Weight of the World
by gizziefan118
Summary: An escaped prisoner and his brother come to Seattle Grace and Meredith and Lexie are held hostage. Now Meredith, Lexie and Derek must save a life to save their own. But will everyone make it out alive? MerDer Gizzie. Co-written with Bohemiangirl.
1. Chapter 1

First of all I'd like to say to everyone and thanks for checking out our story. First I'd like to emphasize that this story is not entirely mine. It is being co-written by Bohemiangirl, who is an amazing author, she planned this whole story out so you should thank her for it. I know I am.

This story will have MerDer and Gizzie in it. We wanted to go for a suspenseful story so here you go. I rated it T for violence. I hope you enjoy the story. Please review and let us know what you think!

Xxxx

Chapter one

"...as he left he was indeed wounded by gunfire. But this did not help as the man seemed to have an accomplice. Another man was seen coming to the aid of the escaped prisoner. They then were able to escape in a car that the police are now searching for. If anyone has seen a-"

"We've gone through this before, Derek," Meredith Grey said, not making eye contact as she hurried to get ready for work.

"And we shouldn't have to," Derek Shepard retorted.

They did not seem to even register the news that was playing on the TV. They were again in one of their usual arguments. So there was an escaped prisoner on the loose. But that wasnt the main focus to the two doctors. There was always something that had to keep them from just getting along. Things couldn't go perfect. Things couldn't go okay for a week without something coming up to get them back to where they were now. But every time they went back to each other. Like maybe the disagreements would suddenly disappear. Maybe she would learn to open up more. Maybe he would just accept things-and her-how they were.

"We have to go, we're going to be late," Meredith said, putting on her coat.

"Avoiding the situation," Derek said. Meredith looked at him.

"Hello, did you see the time? I'm not lying or avoiding. Now let's go."

He just looked at her for several moment then sighed. There was no winning this battle; not at this moment at least. They had to go to work after all.

"Fine," he said. "Let's go."

they looked at each other for another few moments, knowing that this battle wasn't going to end anytime soon because they were both stubborn and did not want to change.

"Okay," she said, and they left without another word.

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Meredith was keen on avoiding Derek, as well as everyone else too at the moment. He asked so much of her, in her opinion at least. She wasn't perfect. When was he going to see that? She was human and she was trying. She knew she was trying. He was just too blind to see that. All he could see was her and the flaws that she carried. They had been through so much together. Why could things just...go okay for once? Why couldn't they just be bright and shiny? But no. ex wives happened, and then commitment issues happened. Look what he did to her with Addison! And he expected her to be so trust worthy? Who knew what else he hadn't told her.

She sighed and stopped. She needed to calm herself before going into the hospital. It was time to leave all this outside so she could focus on things that mattered. Like saving lives. No time for personal life. It was time for work life. After a few moment she collected herself and decided she was together enough to get the long day started.

"Meredith!"

She stopped and closed her eyes, wishing she was fighting with Derek again. There was only one person who could make things worse right now, the one person she had no intention to talk to. Ever.

"Meredith," Lexie Grey said, catching up to her. "How are you?"

Meredith turned around to face her.

"I'm running late," she said firmly. "I was just going in. I don't have time to chit chat, sorry."

She turned back around. She knew that it wasn't that easy to get rid of her sister but at least she could try.

"Oh-wait, this'll just take a second," Lexie said hurriedly. Meredith stopped again, feeling throughly annoyed. She did not turn to face her this time.

"I was just wondering," Lexie said, and she sounded nervous, "if maybe-I don't know- you'd like to come to dinner some time. You know, with dad and I. You could come to our house if you'd like. I mean I could-"

Meredith turned to look at her. She looked like it was humoring her, making Lexie's enthusiasm begin to fade.

"Seriously?" Meredith said. "You want me to come have dinner with you and Thatcher?"

"Well-yeah," Lexie said in a small voice. "I thought it would be nice, you know. We could-"

"I'm sorry," Meredith said, though they both knew she wasn't. "I cant. And I have to go."

"Why cant you?" Lexie said quickly, before Meredith could run away. "I just want us to spend some time together. I mean you are a part of our family after all. It would be good. I think Dad would really appreciate it. You know, since my mom died and-"

"I said no, okay?" Meredith cut her off. "And that is that."

Lexie just looked at her. Meredith waited to make sure she was done, then continued on her way. A part of her felt a slight guilt for treating Lexie that way. She did have good intentions. But dinner with her and Thatcher? The idea alone made Meredith laugh. It was ridiculous.

Lexie sighed, feeling defeated. She only wanted what was best. She wanted to get to know her sister, and she wanted her sister to know her. She was her family, no matter what Meredith said. Why was she so hesitant to see that? Lexie knew that Meredith did not have much, and neither did Lexie herself. She thought they could really get along, if only Meredith would give them that chance.

Lexie looked around, away from the hospital. There was someone on the parking lot. Or no-there were two people, and Lexie thought there was something wrong.

"Meredith wait!" Lexie called after her. "I think someone needs help."

Meredith looked back and saw Lexie going into the parking lot. Meredith did indeed see someone in the parking lot. She followed Lexie as she went un to the people. Lexie looked back to make sure Meredith was coming. She did not want to do this by herself. Meredith sped up and caught up with her as she reached the two men. The sisters saw that the one man was bleeding .

"What happened?" Meredith asked, bending down. Lexie did the same next to her.

"Are you doctors?" the other man asked, who seemed unharmed.

"Yes," Meredith answered. "If you tell us what-"

The man put his hand inside his jacket. Both Meredith and Lexie watched as he pulled out a gun and pointed it at the pair of them.

"You're going to help him," the man said quietly but firmly as Meredith and lexie looked at him in shock.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's note: It's bohemiangirl here. I've written this chapter and am co writing this story with gizziefan118, which I'm thrilled about. Please read and review. We love to hear feedback.

**CHAPTER TWO**

Meredith and Lexie stared at the gunman in front of them in shock. It had happened so quickly that it didn't seem real. As they stared at the gun, they both felt knots begin to form in their stomachs.

"We need to get him to the ER," Lexie managed to say in a shaky voice.

"She's right," Meredith added. She visually assessed the injured man. "If he's been shot he could need surgery and-"

"No," the gunman said coldly. "He's not going to the ER. It's not an option." Lexie looked around helplessly. "Hey, eyes on me," he warned. Lexie focused on the man with terrified eyes. He looked familiar. "Everything's gonna be fine if you just fix him up." Meredith's mind was racing, trying to think of how they could get out of this situation. There were a few people standing around the carpark but they had no idea what was happening under their noses.

"The clinic…" Lexie stammered. Meredith knew what she was getting at and glared at her. "It's closed today. Overworked nurses. We could take your friend there."

"Are you sure it's closed?" the man asked. "Don't you dare try anything with me," he warned.

"No, I'm sure," Lexie said. "It was in a memo." The gunman thought about this for a moment and eventually nodded.

"I just don't have a key," Lexie said. Meredith looked at Lexie with fury.

"Well then you have a problem, don't you?" the man asked, irritably.

"Bailey has one. She's our boss," Lexie said. Suddenly the gunman grabbed Lexie with a muscular arm and covered her mouth with his hand. Meredith was about to call out when the gunman pointed the gun squarely at her head, making sure that the car was shielding them from any passers by wandering through the carpark. He opened the back seat of the car and threw Lexie in. He turned to Meredith and looked at his watch.

"You have seven minutes to get the key," he said. "If you take a second longer, I will drive off with her and she'll never be found. If you alert anyone I won't hesitate to shoot her dead right here."

"Meredith…" Lexie stammered, terrified.

"It's okay," Meredith said to her sister, even though she knew that was far from the truth. "I'll be right back." The gunman cocked the gun as a chilling reminder of what he wasn't afraid to do. Meredith turned and started walking.

Meredith walked though the hospital grounds as fast as she possibly could without bringing attention to herself. She wanted to run and she wanted to scream but she was too scared for Lexie.

_Shit! _Meredith thought to herself as she saw Cristina out of the corner of her eye as she entered the hospital.

"Mer!" Cristina shouted out. Meredith ignored her. "Meredith!" Cristina shouted louder, she jogged to catch up with Meredith. "You're late."

"I know," Meredith said, trying to steady her voice and avoiding eye contact.

"Geez, what's up with you today?" Cristina asked. "Shepherd's in a mood too. You two should fight less and have sex more. It'd be a better outcome for everyone."

"Where's Bailey?" Meredith asked.

"She had a meeting with the Chief," Cristina answered. "Anyway, guess what-"

"I have to go," Meredith interrupted, trying to get away.  
"Fine, blow me off then," Cristina said, disgruntled. She shook her head, annoyed, as Meredith got into the elevator.

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Meredith spotted Doctor Miranda Bailey exiting the Chief's office.

"Where have you been?" Bailey asked.

"I'm sorry…" Meredith stammered. "I left my stethoscope in the clinic."

"Well just get another one. There's plenty lying around," Bailey said. "And you didn't answer my quest-"

"I also need to get my notes from the clinic," Meredith interrupted, thinking on her feet. "For Doctor Shepherd's surgery today." Bailey sighed and reached into her pocket. She pulled out what seemed to Meredith like a million keys and finally found the right one.

"Is everything okay?" Bailey asked Meredith who appeared unusually anxious.

"It's fine," Meredith replied as Bailey handed her the key.

"Bring it straight back to me," Bailey said. Meredith nodded. "I'll never hear the end of it if my key goes missing." Meredith rushed over to the elevator and hit the buttons. The elevator didn't open.

"God damn it!" Meredith said, frustrated. She almost ran to the stairwell, ignoring Bailey's curious looks. The elevator doors opened and Derek stepped out. Meredith was gone.

"What's wrong?" Derek asked Bailey, noticing that she looked confused,

"What the hell kind of surgery do you have Grey on today?" Bailey asked.

"Meredith's not on my surgery today," Derek said, picking some paperwork up from the nurses' station.

"She's taken my key to the clinic to get her notes for your surgery," Bailey said in an accusatory tone, clearly unimpressed. Derek shook his head.

"Not my surgery. Maybe you heard wrong." Bailey glared at him and Derek immediately regretted what he'd said. "I'll sort it out," he said, slinking away.

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Meredith ran down the stairs as fast as she could. She couldn't believe what was happening. She frantically checked her watch. She had three minutes. She didn't want to think about what this guy would do to Lexie if she didn't make it back in time. Meredith was running down the stairs so fast that she didn't see Alex Karev in front of her until it was too late. She crashed straight into him.

"Jesus!" Alex said. "What the hell?"

"Sorry," Meredith stammered. She didn't stop or look up. She kept running down the stairs leaving a half dazed Alex standing there wondering what was going on.

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The gunman had forced Lexie to lie down on the back seat of the car so that she wouldn't be noticed by any passers by. The injured man was slumped so far down in the passenger's seat that he wouldn't be noticed either. He was semi conscious and moaned every so often.

"Your little friend's running out of time," the gunman said, sounding impatient.

"She'll be here, don't worry," Lexie said, sounding more confident than she really was. _Surely Meredith doesn__'__t hate me this much, _she thought to herself. She honestly wasn't sure.

"I'm not worried," the gunman replied. "It's not my life on the line." He pointed the gun at Lexie.

"We just want to help your friend," Lexie said, trying to stay calm. The gunman checked his watch again.

"Tick tock," he said, taunting Lexie. Suddenly the wounded man began coughing violently.

"Shit!" The gunman called out. "Do something!" Lexie leaned forward and realised that the injured man had coughed blood all over himself.

"He's bleeding internally," Lexie said, with dread in her voice.

"Well make it stop!" The gunman shouted.

"I can't! He needs surgery." Lexie said. "Please, we have to take him to the ER."

"I said no!" The gunman shouted. "If he goes to the ER…" his voice trailed off.

"He could die without surgery," Lexie protested.

"You'd better hope not," the gunman said, trying to keep his cool.

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Derek stepped out of the elevator on the ground floor of the hospital and saw Meredith about to rush through the doors.

"Meredith!" he shouted out. Meredith locked eyes with him for a moment, and he saw an uncharacteristic panicked look in her eyes. She looked away and kept walking.


	3. Chapter 3

Hi everyone. Thank you for your reviews. It means a lot to us. We hope to hear from you again to let us know how the stories going, so please review. Thanks again!

-Rosalie

Chapter three

Meredith could not believe that she was awake, that this was really happening. She was currently racing to give a key to an escaped prisoner so her sister didn't get murdered right in the parking lot. How odd did that sound? How could this actually be happening...?

Every little second that passed was like another second that was gone to save Lexie. If she did not get there in time...she would not be able to forgive herself. Meredith hoped with every fiber of her body that nothing had happened yet. She could feel the time slipping away...and it was terrifying her.

Cool air swept over her and she made it outside. She had never ben so thankful in her life. She was going to make it.

"Meredith wait!"

No, she thought desperately. No, no, please don't do this to me now.

Derek came up behind her and she reluctantly turned around. She did not have time for this.

"I-" That was all Derek got out before Meredith said, "I can't talk now. I have to go."

She turned back around but Derek grabbed her arm to stop her.

"What's wrong?" he asked in concern.

"Nothing," she said, struggling away from him. He had thought she was merely avoiding him. It wouldn't be the first time they fought and she avoided him instead of working things out. But there was something else wrong and he didn't like how she was handling it. She looked angry yet extremely pressured and uncomfortable.

"Where are you going?" he demanded to know.

"Look, I don't have time to talk to you and I don't want to. If I wanted to I would. Now just go, do something worth your time. Because this isn't worth yours or mine."

He stared at her in disbelief. He had never heard her talk that way. She pulled away from him and turned around and ran away. He wanted to follow her, but he couldn't. He felt that he should follow her but...what good would it do? She didn't want to talk to him. He sighed and after a moment of hesitation, went back into the hospital.

Lexie's heart was beating rapidly. Meredith wasn't back yet and time was close to being gone. This man was dying and in need of help that she couldn't get.

"I-I don't know what to do," she stuttered. "I'm just an intern, I-"

But the man didn't seem to care. "I don't care. You have to do something."

"I can't!" she cried out desperately.

"You better hope you can," the man replied, quickly looking at the time. "Well I guess it doesn't really matter. Your friend still isn't here and I say your time is just about out."

Lexie's heart dropped. She could hardly breathe. Meredith hadn't made it. And this was the way she was going to die. She was going to die and-

Suddenly Meredith appeared, out of breath but relieved to see that her sister was there looking back at her in the same relief.

"I have it," she said, showing them the key.

"He's bleeding internally," Lexie told Meredith. "And he needs-"

"To get moving," the man interrupted. "And right now!"

For a second both Meredith and Lexie felt quite hopeless. They didn't see any way how they were going to pull this off. But the man let them know that their lives were on the line by point the gun at them. They snapped out of it and tried to figure out what they could do.

"Well let's get him to the clinic," Meredith said, which was the basic thing at that moment.

"How?" Lexie asked, her voice terrified.

"Uh-" Meredith's eyes went to the gun for a second. "I'll take one side and you can take the other."

"Okay," Lexie said nervously. The man seemed satisfied by this.

"Well then hurry!" he rushed them.

He let Lexie out but didn't lower his gun. Meredith took one of the wounded man's arms and put it over her shoulder. She began to pull him out and Lexie rushed forward to do the same. With their combined efforts they were able to hoist the man out of the car. His accomplice got out and looked around quickly. He moved so he was right behind them and whispered, "Go." Meredith felt the gun brush against her arm and took that as their cue to move.

It was awkward walking that way, and the man was not looking well at first. Meredith did not even see the use of doing this. They wouldn't be able to save this man. And if he died...well there was no doubt his brother would kill them too. It was not a nice thought but it was all that went through Meredith's mind.

Lexie looked like she was about to break under the pressure. Meredith prayed to God that she didn't. If Lexie screwed up like that, there was a great chance that this man would not take it well. Lexie was good but still seemed fragile. And this was not a time to seem fragile.

They made it to the clinic. Meredith pulled out the key and quickly unlocked the door; she did not want them to be seen. Because if they were, he would not give them a chance at life. The door opened and Meredith, Lexie, and the injured man between them stumbled in. The other followed and made sure the door was shut behind them. The Grey sisters lowered the man onto a bed and then momentarily froze. What could they do? What did they have? This was not an O.R.

"Well do something!" the other man yelled impatiently, holding the gun up. "Unless you want your heads blown off."

Meredith and Lexie looked at each other desperately.

"Okay," Meredith said shakily. "We'll do what we can."

"You'll do it all," the man reminded them. "If you want out of here you will fix this."


	4. Chapter 4

Author's note: Hey everyone. It's bohemiangirl here. I've written this chapter and am thrilled to be co writing this fic with gizziefan118. Please read and review.

Weight of the World Chapter 4 

Meredith took a deep breath and tried to concentrate. That was nearly impossible to do so with a gun pointed at her head and Lexie trembling and fumbling around nervously beside her. The injured man began coughing again. Blood started to come out of his mouth. The gunman's eyes widened in fear.

"It's okay," Meredith said, knowing that this was far from the truth but she didn't want to panic the gunman. "We're just gonna roll him on to his side so that he doesn't choke." Meredith and Lexie turned the injured man onto his side. He soon stopped coughing but Meredith realized that the bullet hadn't exited the man's body. Instead it appeared to be lodged dangerously close to his spine. She carefully lifted his shirt off over his head to take in the full extent of the damage.

"Shit," she said under her breath.

"What?" the gunman asked gravely.

"He needs X rays and neurosurgery and-"

"NO!" the gunman snapped. "God! How many times do I have to tell you! You have to fix him up here!'

"We can't!" Meredith snapped back. She didn't mean to sound as forceful as she did but the stress of having a gun in her face was getting to her. Lexie looked at Meredith in fear. "I'm sorry," Meredith stammered nervously, immediately regretting her outburst.

"You can operate here," the gunman said, looking around. "It's clean, it's quiet, you're surrounded by medical equipment." He had no idea how impossible the situation seemed to Meredith and Lexie or how under qualified they were for the job. Meredith suddenly remembered something. She knew that it was a crazy idea but if they wanted to live, or at least buy time, it was the only choice they had.

"A truck came yesterday and dropped off some drugs to be dispatched to the hospital. They're still in the boxes. I can find something to anesthetize him and we can start the surgery." Lexie couldn't believe what Meredith was saying. In her eyes, Meredith had just signed their death certificates. The gunman nodded and followed Meredith to the store room. He checked that there wasn't a back exit and went back to Lexie.

Meredith took a deep shaky breath when the gunman was out of her sight. Her hands were trembling. She looked at the boxes and tried to remember the names of the anesthetics that she needed but in her panic all of the drugs looked the same. Meredith closed her eyes and tried to calm down. She found herself thinking about Derek and the stupid fight they'd had that morning. Would that be how it ended? Would she die with him thinking that she didn't want to commit to him? That she didn't love him enough? Nothing could be further from the truth. In her panic to get back to Lexie, she had again pushed him away. How was he to know that it was an emergency? Pushing him away was what she did best.

Lexie looked up at the gunman who was watching the injured man, worried. She had recognized his face from somewhere when they'd first been ambushed but now she knew where from. She'd seen a news story that morning. A man had been shot as he escaped from prison.

"You must really care about him," Lexie said to the gunman, trying to find an ounce of humanity within him. "To risk your life like that."

"He's my brother," the gunman said quietly, looking at the floor. "My older brother."

"You're a good brother," Lexie said softly.

"I promised I'd look after him," the gunman said. "It's my fault that he was put away in the first place. I had to get him out." Suddenly he seemed to snap out of his sentimental tone. "What's taking her so long?" he asked. Lexie shrugged. "She'd better not be up to any tricks." 

Meredith opened her eyes, trying to shake thoughts of Derek from her mind. She heard the gunman's boots pounding on the floor as he walked towards her. She started looking through the boxes again. She found a drug that sounded familiar.

"What are you doing?" the gunman asked, standing in the doorway.

"I found it," Meredith said, trying to steady her voice and holding the vial up. She picked up a box filled with outdated surgical tools.

"Well get on with it," the gunman said. Meredith nodded and headed back to where Lexie was.

"Are you ready to operate?" Meredith asked. Lexie nodded, clearly not ready.

"We need to sterilize the surgical tools," Lexie said.

"No! Stop stalling!" the gunman shouted. "Why can't you just do this! You want him to die, don't you?"

"No," Meredith said, shaking her head. "We want to give him the best chance at living."

"Then you'll take the bullet out so that we can go," the gunman said, angrily, not understanding just how major the surgery was.

"Okay, let's get started," Meredith said, feigning confidence.

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"Doctor Stevens," Mark Sloan called out as Izzie was walking through the hallway. "Where's Doctor Grey?"

"I haven't seen her all morning," Izzie replied. Mark sighed. He didn't have time to be chasing after residents.

"Fine," he said, handing her a patient file. "This is your case now. You're scrubbing in on a cranial reconstruction in an hour. Study up." Izzie smiled to herself, satisfied that she could be part of such a surgery.

"What are you so happy about?" Cristina asked Izzie irritably as she joined her and Alex in the surgeon's lounge.

"I just got handed Meredith's cranial reconstruction surgery," Izzie said happily, opening a textbook.

"She's gonna be pissed," Alex said.

"She's already pissed," Cristina added. "I think her and McDreamy are breaking up again." Izzie rolled her eyes.

"God, relationships shouldn't be as hard as they make it seem."

"She ran straight into me on the stairwell before. Nearly knocked me down the stairs," Alex said. "He must have really screwed up this time." Cristina snatched a textbook from Izzie which was opened to Mark Sloan's procedure.

"There's no way Meredith would miss this," Cristina said. "This is like the holy grail of reconstructive surgery."

"Hands off," Izzie said, snatching the textbook back. "It's my holy grail now."


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks to everyone for your reviews. I'm glad at how this story is going and that people are interested in it. Please review and let us know what you think, because it really keeps us going! Thanks again.

Rosalie :)

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Cristina sighed impatiently as she walked through the halls of the hospital, pulling out her pager again. Interns, she though bitterly. They were always there when you didn't want them to be, but when you did they were no where to be found. She had been paging Lexie for nearly a half hour and her intern had not responded. Cristina was not happy about this at all. She was not ignored. She was the resident, and when she called they came running.

No exceptions.

She passed George in the hallway but ignored him. She did not feel like talking. She also passed Bailey, who asked her if she had seen Meredith, but Cristina replied with a simple "no" and kept walking.

Bailey looked after her for a moment, wishing that these people did not have to be so rude. She continued walking down the hallway and also saw George up ahead. 

"O'Malley!" she called out to him. He turned and looked at her.

"Have you seen Meredith?" she asked him.

"No," George replied unhelpfully. 

"She has the keys to my clinic and I need them back. Will you go find her and get them back?"

George almost said, why don't you? But then thought better of it.

"Yeah, okay," he said, thinking that he had more important things to do. He turned around and walked away, heading toward the elevators.

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Meredith had never felt this amount of stress in her life. Here she was, under gunpoint, expected to preform a procedure that was impossible to do here in this unequipped clinic. There was a very high, 99.9 chance that this man was going to die. And if the man died...well the other would not be very happy. 

She closed her eyes, trying to calm herself. There had to be something she could do. Well she could try this. But then...

"Are you going to do something?" their captor asked impatiently.

"I'm trying," Meredith snapped back. "This is an extremely dangerous thing to do. This bullet is lodged in close to his spine. One wrong movement, just a centimeter and he could be paralyzed."

"But you aren't going to let that happen," the man said, yet there was a flicker of fear in his voice.

"You don't understand," Meredith said in an exasperated voice. "I can't do this. I just can't."

Lexie looked at Meredith fearfully. She did not like the fact that her sister was getting mouthy with this man. He was a criminal with a gun pointed at their heads. It was a wrong time to get smart.

"Meredith," she said timidly, "we at least have to try. There's nothing else we can do."

Meredith glared at her. Lexie knew that the stress was high, but she wanted Meredith's mind to stay clear and just get this over with.

"Lexie, you're an intern, you don't know anything," Meredith told her.

"I think she knows what she's talking about." the man suddenly grabbed her and put the gun to her head. Lexie cried out in fear. "Do you want to watch me kill her?"

Meredith stared at him.

"Than get started," he said threateningly. "Don't underestimate me."

He let Lexie go with a push. Meredith could see tears in her eyes. This did not make the stress any better.

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Derek could not concentrate. Something was wrong. He could feel it. Meredith..she got angry some times but never had she gotten that way. There had to be some sort of explanation. Where had she been going? It had been so urgent. And he hadn't seen her anywhere since. And that did not make him feel any better.

He saw Dr. Bailey ahead and saw a chance to find Meredith. She quickly walked up to her before she walked away.

"Dr. Bailey," he said hurriedly.

"What?" she said distractedly.

"Have you seen Meredith yet?"

"I sent O'Malley to go find her. He should be back any moment." she looked up at him. "Why? You seem-"

"I just- I have a feeling," he said. "I think something's wrong."

Bailey looked at him with raised eyebrows. "A feeling?"

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George reached the clinic, feeling sour. Why did he always have to run the errands? Why couldn't someone else do it? Like his work wasn't important enough that he had to do everyone else's too.

He tried opening the door but found it locked. He frowned. He pulled on it again. 

Inside Meredith, Lexie, and their captor all looked over. Both Meredith and Lexie he'd their breaths. Someone was there. But was that good or bad?

"Meredith?" Both Lexie and Meredith's hearts dropped. George was outside, pounding on the door. "Are you in there? Bailey wants her keys."

The girls looked at the man. He looked away from the door to them.

"Tell him to go away," he whispered to Meredith. "Get rid of him, or I will."

Meredith was extremely frightened. She could not have George here.

"I'll be out in a few minutes," she called in a shaky voice. "I'll take them to her."

"But she wants them now," he replied. "And why wont you let me in?"

"Just go, George. I'll be out."

He did not like the tone in her voice. She seemed to be scared.

"Are you alright?" he called.

"Yes," she answered. 

"Get rid of him," the man hissed again.

George was concerned. Something was just not right here. Why was she taking so long? And why wouldnt she let him in? What as going on? It had to be something, or she wouldnt be acting this way.

He began to shake the doors violently. The man's patience was fading. "Please George," Meredith cried desperately. "Please just go."

This did not help. He only became more convinced that he had to get in there. He began to bang on the door.

"George please," Meredith cried, tears in her eyes. Lexie was too frightened to speak.

The doors suddenly opened and he barged in. There was a moment of shock between all of them as George tried to take in the scene; an apparently wounded man lying on a bed, Lexie and Meredith on either side, staring in fear, and an unknown man, standing there with a gun.

Both Meredith and Lexie knew it was going to happen, yet they had no chance to stop it. The man pointed his gun at George and pulled the trigger. Lexie screamed as he fell to the floor and lay there motionless.


	6. Chapter 6

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far. It's bohemiangirl here. I've written this chapter. Please review. 

**CHAPTER SIX**

Lexie screamed as her eyes fixated on George lying motionless on the ground by the door of the clinic. She burst into tears and looked over at Meredith who was frozen in shock. It had all happened so fast. 

"George…" Lexie stammered. The gunman stormed over to the door and slammed it shut, locking it behind him. 

"That was a close call," he said.

"You have to let us help him," Lexie pleaded, in tears. 

"No," the gunman said. "Look at this as a warning. That'll be you if you don't hurry up and fix my brother."

"I don't think he's breathing," Lexie said to Meredith who knew that George wasn't breathing.

"Eyes back on the task, girls," the gunman said viciously. Meredith hadn't moved. She was completely frozen. The gunman went over to her and grabbed her in a violent headlock.

"I'm not messing around!" he shouted. Meredith cried out in pain. "Do what you came here to do and I'll let you go. Is it that hard to understand? You're really starting to piss me off!"

"I'm sorry," Meredith managed to stammer. She felt sick having that man's hands on her. The gunman let go of Meredith and she felt a jolt of pain rush through her neck. She could feel his cold eyes on her. Meredith managed to take her eyes off of George and turned her attention back to the gunshot victim on the bed in front of her. She could hear Lexie whimpering beside her. Lexie's crying was as distracting as the gunman's threats. Meredith reached over to Lexie and gave her hand a squeeze, begging her to stop. Lexie's breathing slowly started to steady but she couldn't stop looking at George just lying there.

Thankfully Meredith seemed to have administered the anesthetic properly. The wounded man hadn't had an adverse reaction. Meredith turned her attention to the bullet lodged in his back. Before George had come to the clinic, she had completed the easier part of the surgery. It was easier compared to the part which was to come next but it was still surgery that she had never performed before. 

"I need some help," Meredith said in the bravest voice that she could muster. As much as it disgusted her, she looked the gunman in the eye. "I haven't been a surgeon for very long but I know someone who does this kind of surgery all the time."

"Do you want them to wind up like that?" he asked, gesturing towards George. Meredith felt tears burning behind her eyes. 

"No," she said quietly. "But I don't want your brother to end up like that either. I want to save his life and I know that he deserves more help than I can give him." The gunman was listening now. Meredith improvised. "This surgeon," she explained, "he's kind of like a mentor to me. He thinks I'm studying today and I know he'll talk me through this procedure if I call him." The gunman looked unsure. He looked at his helpless brother lying there.

"Fine," he said, put out by having to give in to his hostage. He knew that if his brother died because of his stubbornness he would never forgive himself. "We're going to use your phone and you'll be on speakerphone. I'll hear every word. If you so much as think of giving any clues as to what's happening here, I will kill you both. Do you understand?" Meredith nodded. She pointed to her handbag which the gunman had tossed aside when they entered the clinic. 

"My cell phone's in my bag," she explained. The gunman turned his back to the Grey sisters and went over to Meredith's bag. Lexie saw her chance, although she didn't know what she was going to do. She started taking steps towards the gunman. The gunman fished through Meredith's bag until he located her cell phone. Lexie had missed her chance and quickly went back to where she had been standing as the gunman turned back around. 

"His name's Derek," Meredith said, trying to steady her voice. "His number is stored in the phone."

&&&

Derek had a surgery scheduled but he was stalling for time. He couldn't explain the feeling that he had but he knew that something wasn't right. He needed to see Meredith. He couldn't go into surgery and give his patient his undivided attention until he knew that everything was okay. 

"Doctor Bailey," Derek said, spotting her walking through the hall. "Is O'Malley back yet?"

"No," Bailey said, unimpressed. 

"I tried calling Meredith but her cell phone's switched off," Derek said.

"I'm sure they're fine," Bailey said. "Although they might not be so fine after I've dealt with them." She studied Derek who was pacing around anxiously. "You seriously think that something's wrong, don't you?" she asked, amazed by how overcome he seemed. 

"I saw her earlier," Derek said. "And she had this look in her eyes… I can't explain it, Miranda." 

"Well maybe I'll send someone down to the clinic," Bailey said. "If that's where they went in the first place."

Suddenly Derek's cell phone rang. He lifted it out of the front pocket of his coat and saw that it was Meredith calling.

"Hey, thank God," he said into the phone, relieved. "Where the hell are you?"

"I'm studying," Meredith said back into the phone. Derek immediately knew that something was very wrong. His senses hadn't deceived him." The gunman was standing next to Meredith holding a gun to Lexie's temple. Lexie was trembling uncontrollably. She let out a whimper. The gunman covered her mouth with his hand to silence her.

"Meredith?" Derek asked. "What was that?"

"Nothing," Meredith said. "Look, Derek-"

"Meredith, what's wrong?" Derek asked. "I know that something's wrong. Why won't you tell me?"

"Nothing's wrong," Meredith said. "I'm just studying and I need your help." This seemed to get through to Derek. Anyone else on the phone would not have recognised the cry for help in Meredith's voice but Derek heard it loud and clear.

"What do you need?" Derek asked, trying to figure out what was going on.

"I'm trying to do a case study question from one of the textbooks," Meredith said. "The hypothetical person has been shot and the bullet is lodged close to his spine."

"What?" Derek asked. This had come out of left field. Bailey tried to listen into the conversation.

"You heard me," Meredith said. "To complicate matters, there's no access to an OR and he's being treated in a non sterile environment set up for consults. I've written the instructions for the start of the surgery but I can't remember how do dislodge the bullet without causing spinal chord damage."

"She's in the clinic," Bailey mouthed to Derek who nodded in agreement. They could not have possibly known why she was still there and why she was lying. 


	7. Chapter 7

Meredith gripped the phone tightly

Hi everyone. Sorry for the wait, I've been busy and had a bit of writer's block. Thank you for all the reviews that you have been leaving. You all are great. We've really been enjoying working on this story, and your comments just makes it all the better. We hope to hear from you again. Again thanks so much!

Rosalie

xxx

Meredith gripped the phone tightly. She could not see how any of this was going to work. This situation was just so out of hand, so...unreal. She knew that she could not perform any operation with the limited experience she's had. And how could she make this not suspicious? Well he already was, she knew that. But he couldn't be. Not when...her eyes fluttered to George for a moment, but she quickly looked away. He couldn't be, not after what happened to George. That could not happen again. She was now more conscious of her friend lying feet away from her, and her heart started to ache and she had to stop herself from crying.

Her captor waited impatiently, the gun to Lexie's head. Lexie herself seemed to be holding her breath, waiting for something to happen. Most likely something bad. She knew what the chances of this working out were. And the fact that the gun was pointed at her head did not make her feel any better.

Back in the hospital Bailey was looking at Derek with a frown on her face. He really seemed to think that something bad was going on. She did wonder why Meredith was still gone. And where was O'Malley? He was supposed to bring back the keys and he never did.

"Where are you?" Derek asked. "Why can't you just come ask me? You can show me exactly what you're talking about."

"I can't," she said. "It's easier if you just tell me right now."

"Why is it easier?"

"Derek, please. I need to know, I wouldn't be putting up this big a fight if I didn't."

"Meredith, what's going on?" he asked firmly. She was trying to fake that everything was fine, but she was doing a very bad job of it.

"No," Meredith said at once. "It's fine. Just tell me what to. Can you just help me? Please?"

He looked at Bailey, who was waiting impatiently to know what was going on. He looked away from her and sighed.

"Explain this to me again."

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"Damn it Lexie," Cristina said irritably. Her intern still hadn't answered her pages, nor had Cristina seen her anywhere. It seemed like everyone was gone. She hadn't seen Meredith either.

"Cristina," she heard Izzie say, and turned around to see Izzie coming up behind her. "Hey, have you seen George at all?"

"No," Cristina said shortly. "Have you seen Lexie? She's been ignoring me all day and I can't put up with that."

"I haven't seen her," Izzie said.

"Well if you find her tell her to get her ass over here, I'm not looking for her anymore," Cristina said firmly and, turned away.

"And if you see George-" Izzie started, but Cristina said, "Yeah," and continued on her way.

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"Now you know the risks that are involved in this," Meredith heard Derek say. Yes, she knew, she wasn't stupid. There were so many risks, and they were all counting against her. The man lying there in front of her had a bullet lodged in him, very near his spine. One wrong move and he would be paralyzed. That was if she could even do anything at all. He was going to die if they didn't get this bullet out. And he would most likely die if they tried. Things were just not looking up. Meredith saw no light at the end of the tunnel. She saw a gun shoved in her face.

"You would have to be extremely careful. You wouldn't want the patient to be paralyzed."

I know that, Meredith thought desperately. "So tell me everything that I would need. If I wasn't in an OR."

You wouldn't be doing this if you weren't in an OR, he thought to himself. But the question had significance, this he could tell. Why would she need to know this so bad?

"Okay," he said slowly. This situation was making him uncomfortable. But he might as well play along until he got a better answer, or she slipped up and clued him in on what was really going on.

Meredith looked at the gunman, who looked back sternly. Lexie was now just standing there limply, also staring at Meredith with that wide-eyed expression of fear. But there also seemed to be a hopeless look in her eyes. Meredith noticed Lexie's eyes flicker to George, lying dead on the ground. Meredith could almost hear her thoughts. _I guess that'll be me next_.

Meredith listen closely to Derek's beginning instructions. She tried to motion to the gunman to let Lexie go so she could help, but he did not move. He did not seem to trust her.

_She'll need to help me_, Meredith mouthed to the man, impatience and desperation extinguished from her voice. He gave her a searching look, apparently wondering if he should let her go or not. His trust was limited, but his need to see his brother leave was great. He finally let Lexie go and she stumbled, surprised. She never thought that she'd ever be let go, and she'd already given up. She caught herself before she fell and straightened up quickly.

"What's going on here?" a voice suddenly sounded behind Bailey and Derek, making them both jump. They turned to see the chief of surgery standing there, looking curious. Bailey and Derek looked at each other. Meredith gripped the phone tighter on the other end, hearing the familiar voice. Just what she needed. Another person involved.


	8. Chapter 8

Hey everyone

Hey everyone. This is bohemiangirl here. I've written this chapter. Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed. You really make our day. It's great to get feedback. Please continue to read and review. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

"Who's that?" the gunman asked, upon hearing Richard's voice. It was as though he had forgotten that he was on speakerphone.

"No one, it's fine," Meredith whispered. Derek felt his stomach clench. He had heard the voice of a man through the phone. A man that Meredith hadn't mentioned and probably the reason why she sounded so scared, he assumed. Derek signaled for Richard to be quiet, realizing that he was probably on speakerphone if this man could hear the conversation. Bailey took Richard by the arm and led him down the hall, away from Derek.

"What's going on?" Richard asked suspiciously.

"Something's happened," Bailey said, starting to get a feeling similar to what Derek had described earlier. Her residents weren't simply misbehaving. Something was very wrong.

"What is going on?" Richard asked, more defiantly.

"I need you to keep your voice down," Bailey said, urgently. "Meredith and George have gone missing. I think they're in the clinic. Meredith's in trouble. There's a man with her and she's asking Doctor Shepherd for surgical tips. Detailed surgical tips. That's all I know." Richard immediately looked concerned.

"Give me the phone," Richard said decisively. He started to walk towards Derek. Bailey stood in front of him.

"Not until we know what's going on," Bailey said. "We don't want to make the situation worse until we know what's happening."

"Then I'm calling the police," Richard said.

"Okay," Bailey said. "But first I'm just going to head down to the clinic and see if they're there. If they're not, we're just guessing where they are."

"I'm calling the police anyway," Richard said, determined. "They can start tracing the call." Bailey nodded, apprehensively, and started walking away. "Miranda," Richard said. Bailey turned around.

"Yes Chief?" she said.

"Be careful," he warned.

"I will," Bailey replied, her heart pounding nervously.

"Doctor Bailey," Cristina said, catching up with her in the hall. "Have you seen Lexie Grey at all?"

"She's missing too?" Bailey asked. Cristina looked confused.

"She won't answer any of my pages."

"I'll let her know that you're looking for her," Bailey said, not wanting to worry Cristina just yet, but fearing the worst. She stepped into the elevator leaving Cristina muttering that Lexie would be doing rectal exams for the rest of the week.

"How's the patient doing?" Derek asked.

"The hypothetical patient," Meredith corrected him, via speakerphone.

"Right," Derek said.

"Stable," Meredith answered. Derek could still detect a faint tremor in her voice. He knew that she must be terrified. "What if there's a lot of blood?" Meredith asked, trying to stay calm but motioning for Lexie to apply suction, to get rid of the blood so that Meredith could see what she was doing.

"That's to be expected from a bullet wound," Derek said. "In this case study… are you sure that no organs or major arteries have been hit?"

"I'm sure," Meredith said. It was the only thing that she had been sure of all day.

"Okay," Derek said. "Well it would probably be tissue damage. Its non life threatening but you won't know if a patient has residual nerve damage until they wake up." The gunman looked frightened for a moment. Meredith wished that Derek hadn't said that. She couldn't stand the gunman making the situation any more tense than it already was.

Meredith noticed that Lexie's hands were trembling as she tried to assist her with the surgery. Meredith knew just how terrified Lexie was but she was frightened that her trembling hands would cause her to accidentally touch the man's spinal chord and leave him paralyzed. Meredith took one of Lexie's hands in hers, holding it comfortingly until it steadied. They had never shared a sister moment before and this was certainly not how Lexie had envisioned it happening. Nevertheless, Meredith had managed to calm her slightly, so that her hands weren't as shaky and she could continue to assist with the surgery.

"Okay," Derek said on the other end of the line. "You can't go around the spinal chord to dislodge the bullet. It's too risky. If you can, I would recommend that you to go under the bullet. It takes time and precision but it's a lot less risky."

"Okay," Meredith said nervously. This was a difficult surgery for Derek, a leading neurosurgeon, to perform. It almost seemed comical that she was expected to pull it off. She was just grateful that the patient, Lexie and herself were still alive. Meredith thought of George again. She had to force herself not to look over at him. If she did, she feared that she might scream or collapse or have some other emotional response that could cost her life.

"I've started to dislodge the bullet," Meredith said. "Hypothetically."

"Good," Derek said, sensing extra emotion in her voice. He was frustrated by the situation but also scared to make a wrong move. He would never forgive himself if something happened to Meredith.

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Bailey nervously headed down to the clinic. She wasn't sure what would be worse: having all hell break loose in the clinic or Meredith, George and Lexie being held somewhere random by God knows who, doing God knows what. Bailey stopped about ten meters from the side of the clinic and took a deep breath. Then slowly and steadily, she walked to the side of the building and tried to peer through the window but the blinds were pulled so that she couldn't see inside. Bailey could hear the faint murmuring of voices. She listened in as best she could but could only make out one voice that she recognized. Meredith. She sounded as though she was still on the phone to Derek. Bailey quietly walked to the front of the building, only to realize that the blinds had also been pulled on the front windows. There was no way for her to see what was going on inside.

"Dammit," Bailey whispered to herself. She started to back away from the clinic when she noticed something on her shoe. She touched it with her fingers and realized that it was blood. Deep, dark, human blood. Bailey felt a shiver go up her spine as she looked back at where she had just been standing. She went back to the front of the clinic and got on her hands and knees, examining the pool of blood which had started to seep under the door of the clinic and out on to the footpath. It was a constant stream, indicating that somebody just inside the door was bleeding out fast.

Bailey stood back up and started heading towards the hospital again. She called Richard on her cell phone, mentally putting the pieces of the puzzle together.

"They're in the clinic, Chief," Bailey said urgently. "Somebody's holding them there against their will."

"The police are on their way," Richard replied.

"Someone's…." Bailey started. She took a deep breath and started again. "Someone's either very seriously injured or dead lying by the front door. There's blood spilling out under the door. It's not Meredith. I could hear her talking, but Lexie Grey and George O'Malley are most likely with her." Bailey heard Richard sigh deeply into the phone.

"We have a situation, Doctor Bailey," he said gravely.

"Yes we do, Sir," Bailey replied.

"I'll warn the hospital."

"You had better be careful of how you do that," Bailey warned. "Shepherd's on the phone, trying to deal with the situation, we don't want any of my residents heading down to the clinic to see how their friends are doing and we most certainly do not want media attention or anything that will tip off whoever that bastard is, that we're out to get him.

Richard hung up his phone and rested his head in his hands for a moment. He couldn't believe what was happening, what had been happening under his nose all morning. There was a knock at his door.

"Come in," he said. It was the head of security.

"I just thought I'd let you know, Sir, that there's a car in the hospital parking lot that matches the police description of a car that was used to help a wounded prisoner escape this morning. I've been through it and there's blood stains all though the interior. I'm about to call the police.

"No need," Richard said, his heart racing. "They're on their way, thank you." The security guard left.

"Meredith is being held hostage performing spinal surgery on an escaped prisoner in my clinic." Richard had to say it out loud in order to believe it.


	9. Chapter 9

Hey everyone. Sorry about the lack of updates, I've been busy and then got writer's block again. Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed. You all are amazing and you've made us very happy. I really enjoy writing this story and writing with bohemiangirl. She helped me a lot with this chapter, she basically wrote it herself. We are really happy with this story, and you guys make it complete. So thank you all again. Hope you enjoy the chapter.

-Rosalie

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"_Look, I don't have time to talk to you and I don't want to. If I wanted to I would. Now just go, do something worth your time. Because this isn't worth yours or mine."_

She had not been herself when she said that. She had not been herself, and he had known that but still he let her walk away, and now here they were. She was trying to preform a surgery that was too advanced for her over the phone, with some man that Derek did not know. She was scared, he could hear it in her voice, which meant that she had a good reason to be. He did not want to think about who this man was or what he was doing, or even going to do.

"Derek?" Meredith asked. "Talk to me."

"What?" he said, temporarily lost in his thoughts. Inside the clinic, the gunman looked dissatisfied with the fact that Derek didn't seem to be giving this situation his full commitment. Meredith noticed this and said, "Now we are dislodging the bullet."

"Right," he said. He noticed that Dr. Bailey had appeared in the doorway and was listening with a frown upon her face. He seemed to be losing his cool, and she could not have that happen. He needed to get Meredith through this, for the sake of her life. She looked away from him, thought about it for a moment, then walked away. Derek watched her go, feeling extremely alone and pressured as she disappeared from his sight.

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Alex sighed heavily as he sat a pile of charts down at the nurses' station. Nothing exciting had happened yet today, and something told him that nothing was going to. The most interesting thing he had heard all day was Cristina complaining about Lexie Grey.

Something caught his eye. He looked up at the Chief's office for just a second then had looked away. But now he noticed something out of the ordinary, something that came off as not good; there were police officers in the office, and enough to be too much for something ordinary.

"Have you seen Dr. Stevens?" Mark Sloan asked Alex as he passed. Alex ignored him, too busy looking in, trying to see what was going on. Mark followed Alex's gaze. He frowned.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"I don't know," Alex replied. "But whatever-wait, they're coming out."

He looked away pointedly. Mark didn't; he didn't care if they saw him looking at them or not. A couple officers left the room and went down the hall quickly. Alex watched them go with interest. Mark looked back into the chief's office. Richard appeared in the doorway and looked at Mark for a moment, then also exited the office.

"Why don't you follow them?" Mark said quietly to Alex. "Find out what's going on."

"Why don't you?" Alex asked, wanting to know but not wanting to be shooed away when they noticed him.

"Because I have a surgery to do," Mark said firmly. "Now go."

Alex glared at him, but his curiosity beat out his desire to retaliate and he followed behind the police officers.

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Izzie sat down by herself, excited for surgery but enjoying her moment of free time as well. She pulled out her phone and noticed that she had a missed call. It was from George. She smiled and called her voice mail to listen to the message. Things seemed so carefree and okay at this moment in time. Nothing was wrong, her day was actually going pretty good, and she had this feeling of satisfaction. It was nice to have a day like this every once in a while.

"Hey," she heard George's voice say. "I know that you're busy, but I wanted to and let you know that I want to talk to you about something later. So make sure you find me before you leave. Hope your day's going well. Bye."

She hung up the phone. She had to remember that. She was sure her curiosity wouldn't let her forget. Never did it cross her mind that that was the last time she'd hear his voice, or that she would end up listening to it over and over again, wondering how this could have happened to her.

"Hey," Alex said, noticing Izzie. "Sloan was looking for you."

"Okay," she sighed, putting her phone away.

"Did you see the cops?" he asked her.

She looked up at him. "Cops?"

"Yeah, I don't know what's going on, but I'm supposed to be figuring it out."

She looked confused at this simple concept. But it just didn't sound right to have cops roaming the halls. It gave her a fleeting memory of all those months ago when people worked furiously to make sure the hospital wouldn't explode.

"So I'm going to go," he finished, and continued on his way.

"Wait!" Izzie said quickly. "I want to know what's going on!"

"You have to go to Sloan," Alex told her, and disappeared around the corner. Izzie stared after him for a moment, then got up on followed him anyway.

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Meredith listened, her heart beating quickly. She wondered if Derek knew what was happening. This was suspicious, and he wasn't stupid. She did not want him to get involved in this anymore. She hoped that he wouldnt come running down here, because if that happened, she was done. She would not be able to bear it if something happened to him. And especially because of her. She wouldnt be able to live with herself.

Why had this happened to them? Why was she standing here in this room, next to her petrified sister, with a gun shoved in her face, a friend lying dead on the floor feet away, performing an impossible surgery? Unwillingly she looked at George again. He had only come down here to help, to just get the damn keys back. And now he'd never get the chance to do anything ever again. She felt anger swell in her and had to steadily calm herself.

"Chief," Bailey said when she saw him, standing outside the room which Derek was currently in. "I think that he's starting to crack."

She saw the police go and at least that was good they were finally hear. But that didn't mean that it would necessarily do Meredith any good.

"Derek," Meredith said, keeping her voice steady, "I really need you to help me with this."

"No," the gunman said suddenly. "No. He knows. He knows, that's why he's not saying anything. That's why he can't talk."

"No!" Meredith said quickly.

"He's just thinking!" Lexie said, sounding stupidly desperate.

"Meredith?" Derek demanded, his heart skipping a beat. Lexie was in trouble as well. "What's going on?"

"Hang up the phone," the man ordered firmly.

"No, no I need his help!" she said, her voice cracking.

"Not anymore," the man said, and Derek's voice cried "Meredith!" one more time before the connection was cut.

"Damn it!" Derek yelled, dropping the phone.

"What happened?" Bailey asked hurriedly.

"God, he's going to kill them," Derek said, and pushed past Richard and Bailey and ran down the hallway out of sight.


	10. Chapter 10

WEIGHT OF THE WORLD CHAPTER 10

WEIGHT OF THE WORLD CHAPTER 10

Author's note: It's bohemiangirl here. I've written this chapter. I'd just like to mention again how thrilled I am to be working with gizziefan118 on this story. She's one of my favourite writers on here and I think we work pretty well together.

Anyway, I hope that you like this chapter. Please review for us. We love reading your reviews and hearing what people think of the story.

xxx

"Derek!" Richard shouted after him as he ran down the hall. "Derek, you have to stop!" Derek ignored him and kept running. He turned the corner and ran straight into Mark Sloan.

"Jesus!" Mark said, after almost having the wind knocked out of him. "What the hell?"

"Move!" Derek shouted. Mark stood in front of him.

"What the hell's wrong with you?" he demanded. This gave Bailey time to catch up with Derek.

"You need to stay away!" she demanded. "Someone has been hurt down there," she said, her voice trembling a little. "I saw blood under the door. Now that man has probably killed someone and if you go in there like some kinda hero he'll probably kill you too… or he might kill Meredith." Derek felt sick at the very thought of that.

"What's going on?" Mark asked, wide eyed and shocked by everything that had happened in the last minute. Bailey sighed.

"It looks like a man is holding Meredith, Lexie, George and God knows who else hostage in the clinic. Now I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone." Mark was speechless. This was like something out of a movie, not something that they expected to happen at Seattle Grace. Derek took a step back, overcome by sheer frustration and helplessness. He knew that Bailey was right. He would make matters worse if he went down there and the last thing that he wanted to do was endanger Meredith's life. _If she's still alive, _he thought to himself, his whole body aching at the thought.

"I just wanna go down there," Derek said to Bailey. "I'll stay out of the way, I promise."

"I don't know if I can hold you to that promise," Bailey replied.

"I will," Mark spoke up. Bailey raised her eyebrows at him. "I'll go down there with him," Mark continued. "We'll stay right back and if he tries to make a run for it, I'll knock him to the ground, I promise. I'm faster and stronger than he is." Bailey didn't like the idea at all. She didn't trust Derek to show any restraint whatsoever. Before she could speak, Mark and Derek had started to walk away with Mark keeping a tight grip on Derek's arm.

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"You need to calm down," Lexie said in a trembling voice to the gunman who was pacing around the clinic frantically.

"He knows," the gunman repeated over and over again, sounding more hysterical every time.

"He doesn't know anything," Meredith said, trying to reason with him. "He doesn't even know that I'm treating a real patient."

"Yes he does!" the gunman shouted loudly. His hands were shaking violently, the gun threatening to go off at any moment.

"We need to help your brother," Lexie said, unable to take her eyes away from the gun. "He needs your support right now. The worst part of the surgery is over," she lied. Meredith had to stop herself from glaring at her sister. To her surprise, this lie seemed to calm the gunman.

"As soon as we finish the surgery, you can take your brother wherever you want to go," Lexie continued to lie, thinking on her feet. "His blood pressure rises every time you yell. So if you want to help him you have to stay calm, okay?" The gunman looked worried.

"He can sense when I'm stressed?" he asked. Lexie nodded.

"Yes," she said. "The calmer you are, the sooner you'll both be able to get out of here." While Lexie was talking to the gunman, Meredith continued working on extracting the bullet. It was a slow and delicate process; not nearly as simple as Lexie was telling the gunman but Meredith was impressed by how Lexie had managed to calm him down, even if it was through lies. The gunman took a few steps back and leaned against the wall, going silent and lowering the gun as he watched Meredith and Lexie operate on his brother. Meredith had reached a point where she wasn't sure what to do next. She was afraid to show this, however, and feigned confidence as she tried to think of what to do next, wondering if Derek had raised the alarm.

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Alex and Izzie walked a few feet behind some cops, following them into the hospital grounds.

"The clinic?" Izzie asked Alex. "Isn't it closed?"

"Look over there," Alex said, pointing to the carpark where some police officers were standing around a car that had been cordoned off.

"I wonder what's going on," Izzie said, confused.

"Stay here," Alex said as he went over to where the police were.

"You can't just go over there!" Izzie called after him, knowing that the police wouldn't want anyone interfering with their work. Alex spotted a young, nervous female junior police officer standing back from the other cops.

"Excuse me," he said in the sweetest voice that he could muster. She turned to him and he flashed her a smile that made her melt. "I have some work to do in the clinic and I noticed that something's going on…" he started.

"Um… I'm really not allowed to comment yet," the officer said.

"Pretty please?" Alex asked, smiling again. "I promise I won't tell. My lips are sealed." The inexperienced officer took a step back. She took a notepad from her pocket and pretended to be interviewing Alex.

"See that car there?" she said, flirting back at him. Alex nodded. "Some guy escaped from prison this morning. That was the getaway car and the prisoner was shot. Looks like he's been brought here and they've bailed up some of your doctors at gunpoint. They're in your clinic treating him now, probably at gunpoint."

"Whoa," Alex said, trying to hide his complete and utter shock. "Do you know which doctors he has?" The police officer looked around nervously.

"Um… Doctor Grey," she said trying to remember. "I think there's two doctor Greys actually… and an O'Mallet…"

"O'Malley?" Alex asked.

"Yeah that's it," the officer said, flirting. "Promise you won't tell?"

"You have my word, sweetheart," Alex flirted back. "It's our little secret. I gotta go but I'll see you around sometime." Alex's face changed as soon as he turned around. Izzie felt butterflies in her stomach. She could tell by the look on Alex's face that something was very wrong.

"What is it?" she asked. Alex took her by the arm and pulled her away from the gathering crowd before gently breaking the news to her.

"Well why haven't they just gone in there?" Izzie asked, clearly freaking out. "They can't just wait around here while they-" she couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence. "Oh no," Izzie said as they saw Derek and Mark walking through the hospital grounds. Derek noticed the expressions on their faces and immediately headed towards them.

"What's going on?" he asked. Alex told him. Mark looked shocked and Derek looked as though he was going to be sick. _How the hell are they gonna get out of there? _He thought to himself.


	11. Chapter 11

Hi everyone. Sorry for the late update again. I have a lot to do and haven't been in much of a writing mood so this may not be great. Don't blame me. Okay you can but whatever. Make sure to leave us a review and tell us your thoughts! Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed. You all are amazing. Enjoy the chapter.

-Rosalie

xxx

Meredith looked up at Lexie and the gunman. Her heart was beating quickly out of fear but she knew that she could not show it. She needed Derek back on the phone. She was not experienced enough to do this procedure and could not do it alone. Time seemed to be moving so quickly yet slowly at the same time. What was she supposed to do? What could she do? She could give this man false hope...and get herself and her sister killed. Lexie gave her a significant look that said so much._ Don't freak out. Just keep going with it. Please just do what you need_.

"So are you almost done?" the gunman asked.

"Yes," Meredith said steadily. "And all seems to be going pretty good."

The man looked comforted by this. He looked at his brother's face for several moments without saying anything. Mer and Lexie looked at each other again.

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Alex looked around himself. This felt so unreal. There was Derek Shepard, looking like a complete wreck, pacing back and forth so quickly Alex got sick just looking at him. Then there was Izzie, who was unnaturally quiet and staring at the building in front of them, clearly lost in her own thoughts of what was happening. He thought about Lexie and if she was okay. He seemed to be the only one thinking about her after all.

He should have done something as soon as she called. As soon as he seen her outside and they got in that fight. Why was he so stupid? Derek felt he could strangle someone but instead continued walking back and forth. He could not just stand there. Wasn't there anything that he could do? But he seemed to have missed all the chances he had to do something. And now here he was, and there she was, in great danger that he could have saved her from. If something happened to her now...it would be all his fault. No matter what anyone said it would be all his fault. He would not forgive himself for being stupid and letting her go. He made a promise right there as he paced to never let her go again.

He had left a message on her phone, wanting to tell her something? What the hell was it? Izzie could not stop thinking about it. The man she loved was in danger of being killed but he had left her a message. She tried to push this from her thoughts and focusing on what was happening. But it didn't work. Because what if she never found out? What if they opened those doors and they found out that they had been to late and it was all over now. Then she would never find out, would she? She'd be guessing forever but would never know. And she wouldnt get to tell him she loved him or how happy she was to have him by her side. She wouldnt be able to hug him or touch him or simply look into his eyes. He would be gone and...she would never know.

Izzie turned away and separated herself rom the others. Alex looked around at her but did not move. He figured that she would need time by herself. And nothing he could say would make her feel any better anyway. Derek even noticed Izzie walk away and for a moment he realized that he was not the only one with a loved one in danger.

Richard Webber stood from afar and watched the scene. He could not believe what was happening. There was a man holding three of his doctors hostage, making them perform a surgery that they were not capable of performing, especially under the circumstances they were in. He prayed to god that Meredith would get out of there all right. But she was Ellis Grey's daughter and Richard knew that she wouldnt go down without a fight.

Dr. Bailey appeared by his side but he only glanced at her briefly. She did not look at him but instead looked at the clinic before them as well.

"My god," she sighed.

"Yeah," he replied. That was definitely a good way to put it.

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Lexie had never answered her pages, and everyone else now seemed to have disappeared as well. Cristina had not seen Meredith or George or anyone for that matter in a while. She was starting to get more upset by the moment. Everyone just runs off somewhere without her?

She glanced out the window as she walked by. She walked a few steps past it then stopped, confused and unsure of what she had seen. Slowly she turned back around and went to the window.

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"It's funny," the gunman said after his few moments of quietness. "Sure you'll be able to help him and all but then we're still screwed anyway."

"No," Lexie said quickly, wanting him to stay calm. "I think that once we-"

"We're on the run from the cops," he said. "They are out there looking for us. He's just going to go back to jail and I'll end up there too. But he's really not that bad of a guy, I swear. He's just a good guy who made bad decisions. We all make bad decisions, right?"

"Yeah," Mer and Lexie said at the same time, and then looked at each other again. The man looked back at his brother. "I just wish things could have turned out better. But they haven't and they won't and they never would have anyway."

"I'm sorry," Lexie said, not knowing what else to say at the moment. The man laughed. It was slightly scary to her.

"Yeah," he said. "Me too." Suddenly he looked up from his brother's face. Meredith and Lexie looked also.

"Someone is out there," he said at once, and the human side that had been breaking through was now gone and he clutched his gun tightly.

"I didn't see anybody," Lexie said nervously.

"Shut up!" he hissed at her, and moved closer to the windows where he clearly saw shapes moving behind the closed blinds.

Cristina saw Alex, Mark and Derek standing outside and went over to them, confused by the fact that there were police at the hospital. All three men looked serious and it made her feel uneasy.

"What's going on?" she asked Alex, standing next to him. He looked at her for several moments. He had forgotten that she didn't know what was going on.

"Some guy broke out of jail this morning," he explained. "He was wounded and someone helped him escape. Now both men are in the clinic and Meredith and Lexie and O'Malley are in there with. Apparently Meredith has been performing surgery on the injured guy with Derek's direction over the phone but the line got cut and...here we are."

Cristina stared at him in disbelief. She looked back at the clinic. An escaped criminal? Meredith? George? And Lexie? She had been trying to get a hold of that girl all day and...

"She's been here the whole time," Cristina said aloud. "With an escaped criminal."

After a moment she laughed. _How ridiculous is that_? Alex looked at her uncertainly.

"There is, there's people out there," the gunman said, panicking. Meredith's heart skipped a beat. It was Derek, Derek had done this. And now...now what was going to happen? Then gunman looked at her and Lexie, raising his gun. None of them knew what to do now.


	12. Chapter 12

Hey everyone

Hey everyone. This is bohemiangirl here, who is co writing this story with gizziefan118. I've written this chapter and I hope that you like it. Please review for us as it keeps us motivated. Also, I wish a big happy birthday to gizziefan118! (aka Rosalie)

**CHAPTER TWELVE**

The gunman paced angrily around the clinic. He was starting to lose his cool again.

"Somebody called the cops," he seethed, his hands shaking with rage.

"No one knows that we're here," Lexie stammered.

"You're lying!" the gunman shouted. "It was the surgeon that you spoke to on the phone! You set me up!"

"I didn't tell him anything," Meredith protested. She hated that she sounded as though she was begging. "You heard me. I didn't tell him anything."

"You set me up!" The gunman shouted again. "They know!" He pointed the gun squarely at Meredith.

"If you shoot me," Meredith started, trying to sound brave, "your brother will bleed out and die. Doctor Grey and I are keeping him alive but if you shoot us, he won't make it." The gunman glared at Meredith, pointing the gun at her and contemplating what he should do. Meredith could tell that he believed her. His eyes wandered to where her hands were, deep in the injured man's back. There was no way that he could finish what she had started.

Meredith and Lexie both breathed a sigh of relief as he lowered the gun. They had managed to cheat death once again. Their relief was short lived, however.

"This is the Seattle Police Department," a voice boomed from a megaphone outside.

"Shit!" Lexie said quietly, locking eyes with Meredith, her eyes filled with terror.

"I told you!" The gunman raged again. He pointed the gun at Lexie this time. "You lied to me!" he shouted. Lexie was too frightened to speak.

"For your own benefit I ask you to come out of the building with your hands in the air," the police officer said via the megaphone.

"No!" The gunman screamed so loudly that it made both Meredith and Lexie jump. "You're not having me and you're not having him! I would rather die and take everybody here with me before I go to that hell hole!" The gunman pointed the gun at the ceiling and fired a shot which made Meredith and Lexie jump. He seemed amused by their fear, walking around the clinic shooting at machines and other inanimate objects. Lexie burst into tears and grabbed on to Meredith's arm. Meredith wanted desperately to comfort her sister and get them out of the mess that they had found themselves in but she had never felt more powerless in her life.

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"Shot's fired!" the police officers shouted outside.

"Oh my God," Derek stammered, losing his breath in that moment. Mark managed to preempt any mad dash that Derek might have made towards the clinic by grabbing him by the shoulders and holding him firmly in place. "Meredith…" Derek stammered.

"You don't know anything yet," Mark said.

"She… it was just a stupid fight… I should have known when she…. Oh my God." Derek looked up at Mark, his eyes filled with utter devastation. "What if I never see her again?" he asked. "What if this is it?"

"Don't talk about something that might not happen," Mark said, trying to stay calm. Derek's eyes filled with tears. He was imagining the worst. Derek simply couldn't imagine his life without Meredith in it. He loved her and yet he couldn't remember the last time that he had told her that.

Izzie stood back watching Derek and Mark. She had remained silent. She felt almost as though any move that she made would set the gunman off again, even though she knew that was ridiculous.

"Izzie?" Alex asked concerned. He had been watching her frozen in the same spot. He wondered if she was going into shock. "Do you want to sit down?"

"George is fine," Izzie said, trying her best to sound optimistic. "He's probably more worried about us freaking out about him. Tonight he'll have this great story to tell and he'll be bragging to his brothers about how he fought off this crazed gunman and some prison escapee." Izzie looked unsteady for a moment. "Right?" she asked, Alex, her voice starting to break.

"Right," Alex agreed. The alternative was simply too awful to think about.

Alex's mind crossed to Lexie. Derek was falling apart over Meredith, Izzie was worried sick about George and yet it looked as though no body was stressing over Lexie Grey, not in an obvious way anyway. Little did his colleagues know, but Alex's heart had not stopped racing from the moment that Lexie's name had been mentioned. Sure, he was scared of what might happen to Meredith and George, his friends, but in the time that he had been keeping a vigil by the clinic, he had wondered if his feelings for Lexie extended beyond the 'friends with benefits' label that he had previously placed on their relationship.

Cristina paced around, a few meters away from the other surgeons. She didn't want to talk to anybody. She was furious. Furious with herself for not realizing that Lexie being uncharacteristically late was a sign of something much more serious, furious for being angry at Meredith when her life was at stake but most of all she was furious that three people she cared about had their lives hanging in the balance and there wasn't a damn thing that she could do about it.

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"We've almost finished the surgery," Meredith lied, desperately, as the gunman angrily stormed around the clinic. Lexie was clinging to Meredith, absolutely hysterical now from the shots fired just meters away from them.

"I'm not going to jail," the gunman said. "It's not an option." He pointed the gun at Meredith and Lexie.

"Than please let us go," Lexie begged. "You love your brother and you've known him for your whole life. Meredith is my sister and I've only just met her. I don't know her yet and I really wanna get to know her. Please, we're not ready to die!"

Outside the clinic, the nervous crowd that had gathered heard two final gunshots before the police stormed the building.


	13. Chapter 13

Hey everyone! Thank you so much for the reviews! Sorry to keep you hanging. So much to do with school and -hem- I got engaged- hem- so yeah. Hope you all enjoyed the new episode. Hope you enjoy our chapter more. And Katie amazing job with the last chapter. You set the bar high. Great job!!

xxx

Derek's heart had to have stopped when he heard those two final shots. Everything around him went silent and it was as if it were only him there, staring, wondering and fearing what was happening. Two shots. God what if he got her? No. No that could not have happened. His mind was spinning he did not even notice the people running around him. They had fought this morning. And now...and now...

Someone shook him and he noticed Mark standing there, trying to get him to snap out of the phase he had fallen in. He just stared in confusion at Mark for several moments. He didn't come back to earth until he heard the horrible scream.

Izzie stared blankly in shock. The police had barged into the clinic and there right by the door lay George, unmoving, covered in blood. Bailey ran out to him. Izzie tried to move but merely stumbled sideways. Alex caught her before she hit the ground.

"Izzie," he said, also in shock at what he had seen. She pushed away from him yet he tried to pull her back.

"Alex let me go! _Let me GO!_"

"Izzie you can't-"

But she freed herself from him and ran a few steps forward but then stopped. Dr. Bailey looked up at her and Izzie knew by the look on her face that it was not good. It was...too late. She tried walking forwards again but she could not do it. She backed away instead, shaking her head, tears pouring out of her eyes as she tried to take in what was in front of her.

"No," she said, closing her eyes tightly, trying to make it go away. "No, no no no no-"

"Izzie come on-"

"No, no I can't it-it can't-no-"

"Iz," Alex said firmly. "Look at me. Come on look at me." But her eyes were staring back at the shadow of the man she had loved. Her whole world was crashing around her.

"_Hey. I know that you're busy, but I wanted to and let you know that I want to talk to you about something later. So make sure you find me before you leave. Hope your day's going well. Bye_."

He had something to tell her. And now she would not know what that was.

Derek pulled himself together and moved closer to the clinic, his heart beating rapidly, terrified to find out what had happened. He passed Cristina without noticing it. She stood glued to the spot, unable to move or say anything. She wanted to just sink through the ground and disappear so she did not have to go through this.

The police lowered their guns. There was Meredith and Lexie Grey, on the ground, clutching each others hand for dear life, staring at the man lying on the ground in front of them. The stress and the situation had become too much for him. He fired one last shaky shot before turning the gun on himself, looking at his brother one last time, and pulling the trigger.

Meredith's eyes traveled to Dr. Bailey in the doorway. George was still lying there. Meredith's vision became blurred as tears began to pour down her face. Lexie looked away from George and the gunman and buried her face in Meredith's shoulder. Meredith did not try to stop her.

Izzie first appeared in the doorway, pale and her face blank. She looked down at George, Bailey saying something that no one, including Izzie heard. Meredith watched as Izzie put her hands over her mouth and closed her eyes tight. Bailey stood up and lead Izzie away.

Derek watched as Bailey and Izzie passed him. Bailey looked at him for a split second then kept going. He looked back and saw George O'Malley. His heart sank and he braced himself and kept going.

Derek suddenly appeared. Meredith looked at him, and he stared back, shocked to find her there. He had only been expecting the worst.

"Lexie," Meredith said softly. "I think we should go."

Lexie didn't reply. Meredith looked back and saw Derek in front of them. He looked almost confused. They stared at each other for several moments, unable to say anything.

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Cristina watched as they wheeled George away in front of her. She felt strangely empty and was still considering the possibility that this was all just a dream. Next they wheeled someone else out- the gunman. Cristina watched the door. Next Lexie came out, looking like she was about to be sick. Cristina felt an internal struggle for several moments, then went up to her intern.

Derek came out, shouting orders as they took the injured criminal into the hospital. He looked back to see Meredith emerge. She stood there until he was in the hospital.

"Lexie?" Cristina said uncomfortably. She cleared her throat. Lexie looked at her after a moment of hesitation. But when Cristina saw the look on her face she found herself unable to say anything. So Lexie moved on. Cristina watched her go, wanting to say something but unable to do so. She turned back and saw Meredith. They looked at each other. Meredith opened her mouth to say something, but wanted to say so much she was not able to say anything at all. She followed Lexie instead.

"Meredith," Cristina called after her, but she did not look back. Cristina sighed and looked away. There wasn't anything she could do. For once she was helpless. She stood there and tried to accept this concept, wondering why she had to be standing there. Why had this happened at all? She did not know the answer so she just stood there, not knowing what to do.


	14. Chapter 14

Hey everyone

Hey everyone. It's bohemiangirl here. I've written this chapter. Thank you to the reviewers. Rosalie and I love hearing from you. We're really enjoying writing this story together and we're glad that you're enjoying reading it so please keep your reviews coming.

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN**

Meredith and Lexie slowly walked into the hospital, holding each other's hand for support in a way that they might have done so as little girls, had they known each other then.

"Come this way," Bailey said, ushering them into the ER. "Yang!" Bailey called out to Cristina. "Get some blankets."

"Right away ma'am," Cristina replied, relieved to be told what to do. She wasn't sure how to act. She was still trying to process everything that had just happened. They all were. Bailey led Meredith and Lexie, in their blood stained scrubs, over to a spare bed and sat them down side by side facing her.

"Now, are you hurt at all?" Bailey asked them. Meredith and Lexie both shook their heads, still shell-shocked by the morning's events. Cristina went over to them with blankets. "Put the blankets around them," Bailey said to her. "They're going into shock." Cristina did as she was told as Bailey took a wet towel and gently wiped the gunman's blood away from Meredith and Lexie's faces.

"Have you seen Izzie?" Alex asked, rushing over to them. Bailey shook her head. "I don't know where she's gone," Alex said, showing more concern that he usually ever let anybody see. He locked eyes with Lexie for a moment, deeply concerned for her. Lexie looked away uncomfortably.

"She can't have gone too far, Karev," Bailey replied as Alex rushed off, searching for Izzie.

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"Grey did a good job," Mark said, impressed as he and Derek worked on the escaped prisoner in surgery. "Looks like no residual nerve damage. I don't know many attendings who could pull that off." Derek didn't reply. Mark could see that his shoulders were tensed and his jaw was clenched shut.

"You're not a neurosurgeon," Derek said. "Why are you even here?"

"To make sure that you don't kill the patient," Mark replied frankly.

"Why shouldn't I kill him?" Derek asked coldly.

"Because it's the law," Mark answered. "You have to treat him just like any other patient. And I'm not gonna let you undo all Grey's good work." Derek took a deep breath and unclenched his jaw. His stomach churned just thinking about the events of that morning. What had started as just any other day had turned into anything but. The argument that Derek and Meredith had engaged in, no different from the dozens of arguments that they had had before, could have been their very last conversation. Derek knew that he wouldn't have been able to live with himself if it had ended like that. He wanted nothing more than to be with Meredith in that moment. He didn't want to be anywhere near the man who had been responsible for what she had been through that day. Somehow, despite the distractions and the tension in the room, Derek managed to complete the most difficult part of the surgery.

"Nice work, Doctor Shepherd," Mark said, keeping a watchful eye over him.

"He should make a full recovery," Derek said, wondering if the same could be said for Meredith. He turned to an intern that had been assigned to the case. "You can stitch him up," he said to him. "Page me if his condition changes."

"Thank you, Doctor Shepherd," the intern said gratefully. Derek was already gone.

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"Have you seen Doctor Stevens?" Alex asked urgently, rushing into the interns' locker room. The interns shook their heads.

"Oh my God, did the gunman get her too?" an intern asked. Word had got around.

"No," Alex said, annoyed at the gossip, but knowing that he would be doing the same thing in their shoes. "If you see Doctor Stevens, tell her I'm looking for her," he added.

Alex got into the elevator and went to the surgical floor. He didn't expect to find Izzie there but he didn't know where else to look. He searched the on call room, the surgeon's lounge and even a few patients' bathrooms but there was no sign of her. Finally, out of sheer exasperation he opened the door to a supply closet and was surprised to find Izzie sitting in the corner in the dark with her head in her hands, sobbing.

"Iz," he said with a mixture of concern and relief.

"Don't," Izzie sobbed, her voice racked with grief. "Don't say it!"

"Iz," Alex said again, stepping into the closet.

"Don't say it!" Izzie shouted again. "Don't say anything!" Alex closed the door behind him and knelt down beside Izzie. He put his hand on her arm comfortingly but she snatched it away.

Izzie was the picture of pure devastation. She was leaning against the wall with her knees hugged close to her chest. She squeezed her eyes shut further as Alex spoke, as if she could somehow turn back time and block out everything that she was feeling.

"Izzie, he's gone," Alex said softly, his heart breaking for her.

"Shut up," Izzie whispered angrily though her tears. "Just shut up." Alex reached out to Izzie again but this time he didn't let her pull away, although she tried. Alex put his arms around Izzie and pulled her close to him. Tears burned behind his eyes as he listened to her heart wrenching sobs. He didn't know if she would ever get over this. There was nothing that he could say that would be of any comfort to her so he didn't try. He just held her close to him, wishing that there was something more that he could do.

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Derek went into the ER, searching frantically for Meredith. He spotted her sitting alone on a bed looking as though her mind was a million miles away.

"Meredith," Derek said, as he approached her. Meredith turned to face him, a look of relief sweeping across her face.

"Hey," she managed to utter, a lump forming in her throat. Derek took her in his arms and held on to her as tight as he could. He planted kisses on her neck and her face, breathing in her scent.

"I'm sorry," he murmured in between kisses. "I'm so sorry." Meredith didn't push Derek away. She didn't say anything either but she appreciated being close to him again. She had wondered if it would ever get that chance.

"How's the patient?" Meredith asked when Derek finally let her go.

"What? Oh, he's gonna be fine," Derek answered. "Thanks to you."

"That's good," Meredith said, looking at her feet.

"Where's Lexie?" Derek asked, looking around the ED.

"She got pushed around a bit in the clinic so Bailey's taken her for a scan just to be sure. She'll be fine." Derek nodded, wishing that there was something that he could do or say that would change what Meredith and Lexie had been through that morning.

"Can you take us home?" Meredith asked, looking up at Derek who nodded.

"Of course," he replied. Meredith rested her head on Derek's shoulder and closed her eyes, allowing herself to be comforted by him.


	15. Chapter 15

Hey everyone. Thank you so much for your reviews!! We have been really happy with the outcome of this story and are glad that you have been enjoying it. We hope that you continue to do so. Thank you again. -Rosalie

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Cristina watched the steady rhythm of the heart monitor, thinking about how amazing it was that Meredith had managed to save this man's life. This man who cost their friend's life. It was because of this man that George was not here. Yet he was alive and getting the best medical care he could get.

Alex appeared next to her. She glanced sideways at him for a moment, then quickly looked away.

"How's he holding up?" Alex asked.

"He's stable," Cristina said.

"Huh." Alex looked into the room at the escaped criminal. "Too bad."

Cristina did not reply to that. Probably because she was thinking the same thing but did not want to say it. Instead she cleared her throat and asked, "How's Izzie?"

He sighed. "She's...not good."

Cristina looked at the floor. The realization that George was gone hit her again. It came in waves; one minute she had forgotten and the next it was like, oh my god. He died. It was a hard fact to believe. She didn't know if she could ever truly believe it. He was...

"He was George," she sighed, and realized a moment later that she had said it out loud without meaning to. She instantly felt stupid but Alex didn't seem to care at all.

"Yeah," he agreed. "And there is no one like him."

She didn't respond. They stood there and stared into the room for a while longer.

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Izzie stared at her cell phone. She struggled not to, but against her will, and not for the first or last time, she opened her phone to listen to his message, the piece of him she had.

She closed her eyes as she waited for it to come again.

"_Hey. I know that you're busy, but..." _And then the image of him lying on the ground came, sharp and clear in her mind as if she was standing there once again.

She opened her eyes again so the image would go away, one that would haunt her for many years

to come. And he had wanted to say something to her. Why did that bother her so damn much? Why couldn't he have just said something more specific or why couldn't she...why could she have done something? Maybe she should have went and looked for him, then maybe he wouldn't have gone down there at all and she would not be stuck in this situation.

The message ended and she closed her phone. She stared at it for several moments, then opened it again.

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They pulled up to the house. There was silence for several moments as nobody seemed like they wanted to move. Meredith started to think about how she shared this house with George. And George wasn't coming home. He really wasn't.

The door slammed and she realized that Lexie had gotten out. Meredith glanced at Derek and they both followed suit. Lexie led the way up to the house, none of them saying a word to each other. When they reached the door Meredith passed Lexie to open the door. Lexie stared determinedly at the ground. Mer knew that Lexie was trying to hide her tears. Once the door was open Lexie rushed past and Meredith and Derek followed her in, shutting and locking the door behind them.

Meredith looked around the house for a moment. The empty house. No yelling, no complaining no...anything. Just emptiness that at this moment seemed like would never be filled.

Lexie trailed into the livingroom, leaving Meredith and Derek by themselves in front of the door. She did not look at him at first. It was hard to do so, especially when every time she looked at him she thought about the fact that she thought she would never see his face again. Finally she took a deep breath and made eye contact with him. They had such this way about them that they hardly needed words to communicate. All it could take is a simple look to say it all.

"I-uh, should go talk to her," Meredith said in a slightly awkward voice.

"Yeah," he replied, "I think that you should."

She nodded and looked away. She turned around and headed towards the living room.

"Meredith," he called out after her. She turned back around to look at him. He opened his mouth to say something, then stopped, as if he thought better.

"It's fine," she said. "I'll meet you upstairs."

He nodded and let her go. He waited until she disappeared into the living room until he headed up the stairs.

Lexie was sitting on the couch, staring blankly at her feet. Meredith walked up to her and looked down at her sister for a moment. Lexie looked up quickly but then turned her attention back to her very interesting feet.

Meredith sat down next to her on the couch with a heavy sigh. She looked around the room, thinking of all the memories that it held. They almost made her smile. Almost. But she could not find it in herself to do so.

"I," Lexie suddenly said, but seemed to be having difficulty saying what she was trying to say. Meredith did not push her. Lexie though tabout it for a moment then tried again.

"Was there anything we could have done?" she asked, her voice abnormally high.

Meredith knew what she meant. "No, and you know that. It wasn't our fault."

"Are you sure?" Lexie asked.

The truthful answer to that question was no, but Meredith did not find it wise to say so. She tried to think of something else to say.

"You did great in there," she said. "You handled it better than a lot would."

Lexie laughed humorlessly. "I was a wimp."

"No, you weren't," Meredith said firmly. Lexie shook her head. "You were able to talk to him when I wasn't. You were able-"

"He killed George," Lexie cut her off. "Haven't you realized this?"

Meredith stared at her for a moment, then looked away.

"Not entirely," she admitted. Lexie looked at her and bit her lip and nodded again.

"I'm never going to forget this," Lexie said.

"Yeah, me neither," Meredith replied.

"But I want to so much," Lexie said in a shaky voice.

Meredith took a deep breat to keep ahold of herself. "Yeah me too."

Being able to forget that she and her sister were under gunpoint performing an impossibly procedure while her friend lay dead in the corner...yeah she'd like to forget that.

"Yeah me too," Meredith said again, and felt the tears sting her eyes. Lexie nodded yet again but this time it did not stop a sob from coming out. Meredith felt the tears stream down her face as she put her arms around her sister and said, "God me too."

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Derek sat down on Meredith's bed. He unnecessarily smoothed the bed cover and thought about all the times they had made love in this very bed. God he came so close to losing her, to losing the most wonderful thing that he had ever had, the most wonderful thing that had ever happened to him. He took a calming breath and looked up at the ceiling. What would he have done if that man had gotten to Meredith? He would be no different from Izzie, hiding from the world in hope that it would all just go away. When those final shots had been fired, he thought that that was it, that they were done and he had lost everything. But by some miracle she had survived and he would never take her love for granted ever again. Never, ever again. He closed his eyes, praying that no tears of relief would leave his eyes. He had came so close to losing her. He wasn't sure if he could have made it if he had.

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Izzie stared at the phone in her hand. She had been here in this spot for hours, unable to move. All she knew was that George was dead and she could not go home. She could not go home and lie there in the bed in which he had laid next to her, holding her tight. She could not go home and live through that hell. So she stared at her phone a nd opened it again, hangng on to all she had left.


	16. Chapter 16

It's bohemiangirl here. I've written this chapter. I hope that you're enjoying the story. Please review.

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN**

Alex had stayed on at the hospital, even though his shift had officially finished hours earlier. He had told himself that the hospital needed all the doctors it could get due to the events of the day which had devastated the morale at Seattle Grace. But deep down Alex knew that if he stopped working he would feel the full impact of what had happened. Seeing Izzie so broken had hurt him more than he would ever admit. Alex hated the feeling of helplessness that engulfed him. Nothing that he could say or do would change what had happened. For the first time in his life, Alex had found people who he cared about and who he considered family. Now one of them was dead, two had almost died and Alex didn't know if Izzie would ever recover.

"Doctor Karev," Richard said as he spotted Alex leaving a patient's room. "What are you still doing here?"

"Post op notes," Alex replied.

"I think you should go home," Richard said. "You've had quite a shock today."

"It's fine," Alex replied, looking away.

"It's not fine," Richard replied sternly. "You know that it's not fine. Your shift's over. You should be with your friends." Alex sighed and nodded. He knew that Richard was right. "Doctor Karev," Richard called out as Alex started to walk away.

"Yes, Sir," Alex replied, turning back around.

"Have you seen Doctor Bailey?"

"Not for hours," Alex replied and kept walking.

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Richard had paged Bailey but there had been no response. He had asked after her but no body claimed to have seen her since the crisis ended. After searching what felt like every room in the hospital, Richard headed down to the clinic where the police investigators were still collecting evidence and trying to piece together the events of that morning. Meredith and Lexie had been too traumatized to assist them in their initial investigations. They would have to be interviewed at a later time.

Richard felt his stomach clench as he approached the clinic. It was a miserable scene. George's blood still stained the floor as the investigators took photographs to use as evidence. There were bullet holes in the walls, ceiling and equipment. It pained Richard to think of the terror that Meredith and Lexie had experienced that day. It was more than anybody should have to experience. Richard kept a respectful distance from the police, not wanting to interfere in their investigation, and searched for his Chief Resident.

Finally when he rounded the corner to the side of the clinic, Richard found Bailey slumped against the wall, her head in her hands. His heart broke for her in that moment.

"Miranda," he said, sitting down beside her, against the wall of the clinic, and placing a hand on her shoulder. Bailey lifted her head and Richard could see that her eyes were swollen from crying.

"I should never have made him come down here," she said in a shaky voice.

"Miranda, you can't blame yourself for what's happened," Richard said. "You had no control over the situation."

"Yes I did," Bailey protested, her voice quivering. "All I cared about was getting the stupid keys to the clinic back. I should have known that something was wrong when Meredith didn't bring them back. Instead, all I did was complain and I sent George straight into the line of fire."

"Listen-" Richard started.

"No, you listen!" Bailey cut him off, angrily, becoming more visibly upset. "That should have been me. I should have chased up after the keys. I never should have sent him down here. He shouldn't be dead. It should be me lying in that body bag." Bailey tried to say something else but it was lost as she began sobbing. Richard put his arm around her, trying to comfort her.

"You did nothing wrong," Richard said firmly. "You're the chief resident. You're not supposed to go chasing up after people and go looking for keys. That's not your job. It's your job to instruct people. Now there is nothing that could or should have been done differently. You know that Meredith could just have easily been paged to an emergency or forgotten to bring the keys back. There was nothing to suggest what was really happening and it is not your fault that George was killed." Bailey didn't reply. She sobbed harder as Richard repeated the same words over and over: "it's not your fault."

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Alex went back to the same closet where Izzie had refused to move from earlier. He hadn't seen her around the hospital and sure enough when he opened the door, she was still there.

"Iz," he said softly. Izzie had stopped crying. She looked exhausted, as though it was not possible to cry any more. She was holding her cell phone with George's message playing once again. Alex took the cell phone from her hand and turned it off. Izzie didn't fight him. She was too exhausted to fight him. She simply looked up at him with a look in her eyes as though a part of her had died alongside George. "Come on, let's go home," Alex said gently. Izzie shook her head.

"No," she said quietly. "I can't go back there. I can't to back to where we lived."

"You can't stay here forever either," Alex replied. He held out his hand. "I'm not leaving without you and frankly I need to get out of this place. You don't have to sleep in your room if you don't want to. I'm sure we can work something out with Meredith. Just come home." Izzie looked at Alex reluctantly but gave him her hand anyway. He pulled her to her feet and steadied her until she could stand on her own. Alex led Izzie out of the hospital and to his car which he had deliberately moved far away from the clinic, to a spot where they wouldn't have to look at it as they left.

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Derek stared at the ceiling as he lay back on Meredith's bed. He had been thinking of all the things that he wanted to say to her. Things that he should have said to her. Things that he may never have had the chance to say to her. He had so much to say that he didn't know where to start. He just knew that he needed to hold her.

Derek wasn't sure of how much time had passed since he'd heard Meredith and Lexie come up the stairs and go into Izzie's room, presumably so that Lexie could lie down. He had heard their soft voices talking but there had been silence for a while now. Derek sat up and went to check that Meredith and Lexie were okay. He knocked on the door of Izzie's room but there was no answer. He waited a little while before opening the door to find Meredith and Lexie fast asleep side by side, their hands touching slightly. They were utterly exhausted from everything that they had been though. Derek took a blanket out of Izzie's closet and draped it over Meredith and Lexie, making sure that their tiny bodies were covered. He leaned over and gave Meredith a kiss on the cheek, noticing how peaceful she looked. Lexie also looked peaceful and Derek touched the side of her face comfortingly before he switched the light off and left them alone to rest, thinking to himself that if there was one good thing to come out of that tragic day, it was that Meredith and Lexie now had each other.


	17. Chapter 17

Hey everyone! Thanks for all your reviews! You are all amazing and it means the world to us when you review. Seriously :P So please review again as we wrap this up. Lets us know your thoughts, no matter what they are. Thank you!!

-Rosalie

xxx

Izzie watched out the window, now no longer seeing much of anything. She was lost in her own world where she was trying to make sense of everything that had happened. The thought that he was not ever coming back here was just...absurd. And yet she was sitting there and he hadn't come home. He hadn't, and he...Her hand twitched out of instinct to grab her phone and listen to the message, but she didn't. She forced herself not to.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The pain she was feeling felt unbearable. It was like reality was stabbing her, over and over and all she wanted was for it to go away. She wanted it all to just go away.

The sound of a car pulling up brought her out of her phase. Her eyes snapped open and she nearly fell as she quickly stood up. The car stopped and a second later a woman stepped out of it. Izzie stood frozen for a moment, not even able to breathe. She was not ready for this.

"_George, he had...he had something that he wanted to give you_."

And then another voice in her head:

"_I wanted to let you know that I want to talk to you about something later_."

The doorbell rang and she jumped. She took a deep breath to try and calm herself, then went to the door.

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Meredith could see it happen, over and over again in her mind. Finding them in the parking lot, getting a gun shoved in their faces, yelling at Derek in the parking lot, George barging in...Meredith wiped a tear from her eye and said, "And then he...told us to continue on with the surgery."

"And he was just lying there," Lexie said in the next room, also wiping tears away. "And we wanted to help him, but he wouldn't let us. He wouldn't..."

Her voice trailed off. She took a moment to find it again and try not to cry.

"And so you started the surgery?" the man asked. He was not pushing her, but she could tell that he wanted to know.

"She called Derek," Lexie said without looking at him.

"I didn't know what to do," Meredith told her interrogator. "I am not that experienced, we weren't in an OR, I'd never done this." Her voice rose slightly to emphasize this fact as she tried to not freak out. "So I called Derek. I needed him to tell me what to do."

"He figured out where we were," Lexie explained. "I don't know how it all exactly happened. All I was thinking about was finishing this surgery, hoping that he would let us walk free afterwards."

Derek waited impatiently in the waiting area. He did not like the thought of Meredith or Lexie being forced to relive this. The guy was dead, right? Case solved. He walked around for a moment then stopped and sighed. He sat down in a chair. He just wasn't sure how they would handle this. It was like they had been trying to push it out of their minds as much as possible. Meredith had not told him what went on in the clinic, and he didn't ask her. He knew that she would tell him when she was ready. But he didn't think she was ready yet, which was why he did not like her being pushed to tell them now.

And then as for Lexie...she had been quiet as well. Derek really did not speak to her, but she did not seem keen to speak to anybody anyway. The only person that she so far had opened up to was Meredith. They now had this connection that no one else could come close to. And Derek was sure that they would, for now on, have that connection as long as they lived.

"He started freaking out," she said shakily. "He was blaming us for setting him up. That's when the cops called in and he really lost it."

"He just started shooting things," Meredith said, and even now the whole thing was hard to believe. "I thought that was it for us. I seriously saw my whole life flash before my eyes."

"And then," Lexie said, determinedly starting at the ground, "he..."

Meredith said what her sister could not. "He just shot himself."

"And that's when the police came in?" the man asked.

"Yes," Meredith answered. "So you should know the story from there."

As far as she was concerned this interview was over, and she really never wanted to speak of it ever again.

Derek looked up. He saw Lexie coming towards him, looking down at the ground as she walked. He stood up. He wanted to say something to her, but he couldn't find the words. All he could say was, "Is Meredith done?"

Lexie shrugged. A moment later Meredith came up behind her and said, "Yes, Meredith is done. And I think now's a good time to go."

He looked from her, to Lexie, then back. "Okay, let's go."

Meredith grabbed Lexie by the arm and led her out, as Derek trailed behind them, wondering how long it would take Meredith to open up to him.

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Izzie opened the door. There stood Mrs. O'Malley. She gave Izzie a sad smile that Izzie tried to return, but found herself unable to.

"Hi," she said instead.

"Hi," Mrs. O'Malley replied. They stood there for a moment.

"Come in," Izzie said, moving out of the way.

George's mother stepped into the house. She looked around as Izzie closed the door behind her. Izzie was very afraid. She did not want to talk to this woman. She didn't want to talk to anyone. She did not want to talk about George, to talk about the truth.

"Would you like to sit down?" Izzie asked.

"Yes," Mrs. O'Malley replied. Izzie led her into the living room and sat down on the couch. George's mother sat down as well. She did not look at Izzie for a moment.

"How are you doing?" she asked.

Izzie did not reply. She couldn't. This woman had just lost her husband, and now had just lost her son. Izzie had no right to compare her grief to hers. It wasn't fair. She was just imposing on this woman's life. Mrs. O'Malley looked up at Izzie when she didn't reply. She waited for a moment, then said, "I understand."

Izzie just nodded. Mrs. O'Malley looked at her a moment longer, then began to search her purse. She found what she was looking for a took it all. It was a small box. Izzie stared at it.

"George," Mrs. O'Malley said with a slight tremor in her voice, "called me just the other day. He was asking me-" She paused for a moment, looking at the box. "He asked me if he could have this." She shook the box slightly. Izzie heard something move inside of it. "I was so happy to hear it. I was happy for him, and for you." she looked up at Izzie. Izzie looked back at her, her heart racing. Mrs. O'Malley held the box out to her. "He wanted you to have this."

Izzie simply stared at it for a moment, then took it in her own hands. She looked back up at Mrs. O'Malley for a moment, as if it ask for permission. Mrs. O'Malley nodded. Izzie looked back down at the box. With shaking hands she opened it. She stared at it contents, and again reality stabbed her.

"It was his grandmother's," Mrs. O'Malley explained as Izzie took the ring out. "We always planned for Georgie to give that to the girl he loved when he wished to marry her. When he called the other day I knew. He was going to ask you to marry him."

Izzie stared at the ring in her hands. It was so beautiful.

"_I wanted to let you know that I want to talk to you about something later_."

"I thought that you should have it," George's mother said, and Izzie could see tears in the woman's eyes. "He wanted you to have it."

Izzie looked at her. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," his mother replied. She stood up. Izzie had the feeling that she no longer wished to be here any more than Izzie did. "But I need to go now."

"Of course," Izzie said, standing up as well, the ring in her hand. She led Mrs. O'Malley to the door. Before she left, George's mother said, "We'll be having a service. I let you know what's going on when I know more."

"Okay," Izzie said without really thinking about what those words meant. For a moment it looked as if Mrs. O'Malley was going to give her hug. And though she wanted to, she instead walked out the door and went back to her car. Izzie shut the door softly and went back to the living room. She opened her hand and saw the ring there. She picked it up with her other hand and slipped it on her left hand. For a moment she almost smiled. And then she broke down.


	18. Chapter 18

Hi everyone. This is bohemiangirl here. I have written this chapter and it's the final chapter that I will be writing of this story, sadly. There is one more chapter to come after this and it will be written by gizziefan118 who I have LOVED writing with. What a privilege. Please review for us. We really love feedback.

**CHAPTER EIGHTEEN**

Meredith rubbed her eyes as she stirred awake. The sunshine was creeping in through her window but Meredith did not welcome it. Not that day. It was the day of George's funeral service. A day that she and the others had been dreading. Meredith rolled on to her side and gently nudged Lexie so that she would wake up. Meredith didn't want to wake her sister. She looked so peaceful, a stark contrast to her demeanor when she was awake. In the days following their ordeal Lexie had been plagued by nightmares and panic attacks. Derek had prescribed a mild sedative which had helped Lexie a little, but Meredith knew that it would be a long road to recovery, if recovery was possible at all.

"Lex," Meredith said as Lexie started to wake up. "Come on, we have to get up." For the past few nights Meredith and Lexie had slept side by side with the lights on. Meredith had surprised herself and everybody around her by her growing attachment to her sister. She felt very protective of Lexie and it didn't feel right to leave her alone while she was still so fragile.

"What day is it?" Lexie moaned sleepily as she opened her eyes. Meredith didn't have to tell her. Lexie's facial expression indicated that she had suddenly remembered what day it was.

"Come on," Meredith said, climbing out of bed. Lexie followed a few minutes later.

"What's for breakfast?" Alex asked as he went into the kitchen. "Smells good."

"French toast," Derek replied. He stretched his back as he poured glasses of orange juice for everyone. "You guys should invest in a better couch. My back's killing me."

"Or you could just sleep at your place," Alex said.

"Not a chance," Derek replied. He had been just as rattled by the whole ordeal as the others and didn't want to be anywhere else. He maintained a vigil at Meredith's house, rescheduling his surgeries in order to do laundry, prepare food and keep an eye on Meredith and her surrogate family.

"Hey," Derek said as Meredith and Lexie entered the kitchen. "I made French toast." Meredith gave Derek a grateful smile even though she wasn't sure it was the best idea. She went over to him and cuddled into his strong chest, savoring the warmth of his arms around her. "How did you sleep?" he asked, kissing her on the forehead.

"Okay," Meredith replied.

"What about you, Lexie?" Derek asked as Lexie sat down at the dining room table.

"Okay, I guess," Lexie replied. The spark that was usually in her eyes was gone. Derek and Alex took the French toast to the table. Derek set Lexie's bottle of pills in front of her.

"It might be a good idea to take one of these before…" Derek's voice trailed off. He didn't want to say it. None of them wanted to say it. Lexie opened the bottle but then stopped.

"Not today," she said, shaking her head. "If I'm supposed to move on at all I can't be numb today."

"Okay," Derek said gently. "But if you feel that you need something I want you to tell me." Lexie nodded. She was grateful that Meredith and Derek were looking out for her. If something good was to come out of this tragedy it was that she had found a family.

"Is Cristina coming?" Lexie asked.

"She's going to meet us at the church," Meredith replied. "Is Izzie having breakfast?"

"I don't know," Derek replied.

"Maybe I should-" Meredith started.

"No, I'll go," Alex said. He took a bite of his breakfast and went upstairs to Izzie's room.

"Iz," Alex said as he knocked on her door. There was no reply. "Izzie," Alex said, a little louder. He waited but there was still no sound. Izzie hadn't let anybody close to her since the ordeal. Occasionally they heard faint crying coming from her room but when they had knocked they had been told to go away. Alex opened the door slowly and found Izzie sitting cross legged on her bed. She was already dressed for the funeral service in a black dress and stockings. Her hair was pulled back into a tight bun. She was holding a ring in her hands.

"Are you gonna have some breakfast?" Alex asked. Izzie shook her head. "You need to eat, Izzie," he said, concerned. "I can't remember the last time I saw you eat."

"He was going to propose," Izzie said, not taking her eyes away from the ring. "His mother told me. He asked her for his grandmother's ring. He had something to tell me… something to ask me… and now I don't know what to do with the damn ring." Izzie's voice was wobbling as she said this. Alex sat down beside her on the bed.

"You should wear it," he said. "George would want you to wear it." He took the ring from Izzie's trembling hands and slipped it on her finger.

"It fits perfectly," she said sadly.

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Richard Webber walked through the surgical ward of Seattle Grace Hospital which was slowly returning to normal after the death of one of its most beloved staff members. As he observed the doctors and nurses going about their daily business, he could sense their loss. Things just weren't the same.

"Doctor Bailey," Richard said, as he spotted his Chief Resident heading towards an OR.

"Not now, Chief, I got-"

"No you don't," Richard said in a stern voice which made Bailey stop in her tracks. She turned to face him, already knowing what he was going to say. "Let me guess, you have some urgent surgery that you just have to scrub in on and maybe it'll take longer than expected and you won't have to say goodbye to George."

"Yes, Sir," Bailey replied, her voice quivering as she looked at the floor.

"I won't have it," Richard said. "I don't want to say goodbye any more than you do but we must. You are not to come back to this hospital until tomorrow."

"Only if you promise to do the same," Bailey replied, not letting the Chief off so easily. Richard sighed.

"Let's go," he said sadly.

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After they had dressed for the funeral service, Meredith and Lexie joined Derek and Alex downstairs. Nobody was saying anything. There was nothing that they could say to comfort each other so they didn't try.

"Izzie…" Meredith said, noticing that their friend hadn't joined them.

"I'll get her," Alex said, starting to make his way back up the stairs.

"I'm here," Izzie said from the top of the stairwell. She looked fragile but her voice and movements had a sense of strength and determination that was quintessentially Izzie as she made her way down the stairs. When Izzie reached the others, Alex and Meredith each took one of her hands and they all left the house together.


	19. Chapter 19

Hi everybody

Hi everybody. It's bohemiangirl here. Here's the final chapter of this story for you. I'm sorry that it's taken this long to post. It's been a crazy few weeks with exams etc but it's finally here. Thank you so much to everybody who has taken the time to review. We really appreciate it and love hearing from you so please review this last chapter for us.

Hey everyone. Thank you so much to all who have read and reviewed, it means a lot to both of us. I have really enjoyed writing this story and hope you have enjoyed reading it. And thanks to Katie, you were amazing to work with and I thinks that is what I'll miss the most :) Rosalie

**CHAPTER NINETEEN**

Alex drove to the church in silence. Izzie occupied the passenger seat while Lexie, Meredith and Derek sat in the back. No body said anything. Nothing that they could say would improve the mood so they didn't try. Izzie stared out of the window at the clear, blue sky. It was a beautiful day outside. There wasn't a single cloud to be seen. Izzie closed her eyes, tears burning angrily behind them. George was dead. The love of her life was gone forever and the sun was shining. It seemed wrong. Storm clouds should gather, she thought. Thunder should rip through the sky, lightening should strike and the rain should pour on day like this. Instead, it was warm and sunny for the first time that year.

"Izzie," she heard Alex say. Izzie opened her eyes and realized that they had arrived at the church. "Do you need a minute?" Alex asked hesitantly, noticing Izzie's pale face. Izzie shook her head.

"Let's go," she said quietly. She needed more than a minute.

"Are you alright?" Richard asked Bailey as they entered the church. Bailey looked up at the Chief with raised eyebrows, as if to ask what kind of ridiculous question that was. "Sorry," Richard said, embarrassed. They went to the front of the church behind the other mourners who had come to pay their respects to George. Richard and Bailey noticed many familiar faces. Everybody from Seattle Grace who could attend the funeral service was there. Both Richard and Bailey felt a sense of pride that in such a short time, George O'Malley had made such an impact on those around him.

Izzie and Alex stepped into the church just as Richard and Bailey found their seats. Izzie's eyes locked with Bailey's for a moment. Bailey gave Izzie a sad smile. Izzie tried to return it but a loud sob startled her. Mrs. O'Malley stood in front of George's casket, heartbroken. George's brothers Ronnie and Jerry took her by each arm and tried to lead her away.

"I was married in this church," Mrs. O'Malley sobbed. "George was baptized here. He should have been married here he-" Izzie consciously stopped listening to what Mrs. O'Malley was saying as she was led to her seat. She couldn't stand to hear any more so she blocked the noise out. Before she knew it, Izzie was standing in front of George, her heart pounding. Beside her, Alex felt a lump in his throat as he laid eyes on George. If what had happened hadn't hit home before, it certainly had now.

"I need to sit down," Izzie whispered after a moment.

"Okay," Alex said. "Are you sure?" Before the service, Izzie had expected to find some comfort in seeing George again. It had only been a few days and she already missed everything about him. It became very clear to her that the body in front of her contained no trace of the George that she knew and loved. Seeing his outer shell provided no comfort to her. George was gone.

"I don't want to remember George as a corpse," Izzie said. "He doesn't deserve to be remembered like this." Alex nodded and gently led Izzie to her seat.

Derek, Meredith and Lexie were the next mourners to see George. Meredith grabbed Derek's hand in hers as she looked at her friend. It was a rare display of affection from her but Derek welcomed it. He squeezed her hand supportively, letting her know that they could, they would get through this. Beside Meredith, Lexie let out a whimper before turning and rushing out of the church.

"Lex!" Meredith called after her but Lexie didn't look back.

"I can go," Derek offered. Meredith shook her head.

"No, I'll go," she said. Derek nodded as Meredith went after Lexie. He turned back to George and felt a tear fall down his cheek. He was going to miss George O'Malley.

"Lexie!" Meredith shouted, rushing to catch up with Lexie in the grounds of the church. Finally Lexie stopped. She appeared out of breath. "Lexie," Meredith said again as she caught up with her. Lexie was trying to breathe but she appeared panicked.

"You need to take slow deep breaths," Meredith said, her inner doctor kicking in.

"I can't," Lexie replied, struggling for breath as tears rolled down her face.

"Yes you can," Meredith said calmly. "Slow, deep breaths. You're having a panic attack. It will pass."

"No it won't," Lexie said breathlessly, shaking her head. "He had us in the clinic and he had a gun and I thought we were gonna die but now…" her voice trailed off as she tried to breathe. "I can't do this," she continued. I can't sit in there and say goodbye to him like its right because it isn't."

"You have to," Meredith said sympathetically. "I know it's hard."

"Did you see him?" Lexie cried. "That doesn't even look like George. He's pale and stiff and they put so much goddamn make up on him. George would freak out if he knew how much make up he was wearing right now. He's wearing an ugly tie that he never would have picked and-"

"Lexie, you need to breathe," Meredith said, trying to calm her sister.

"He looks like some kind of mannequin!" Lexie sobbed. She was becoming hysterical.

Meredith hated what Lexie was saying about George. She hated it because she had been thinking exactly the same thing. Nothing that Meredith said could calm Lexie down so she instinctively did something that Meredith prior to the dramatic last few days never would have done. She pulled Lexie into a hug and held her,

"Shhh," Meredith soothed. She hated seeing Lexie like this. "We're gonna get through this. We have to. George would want us to." Lexie's breathing slowly steadied as Meredith held her.

"Everything okay? They heard Derek say as he approached them.

"Yeah," Meredith replied. "We're okay. Aren't we, Lexie?" Lexie nodded as she wiped her eyes and pulled away from Meredith. Derek took some tissues out of his jacket pocket and handed them to Lexie.

"Thank you," Lexie replied, wiping her eyes.

"They're about to start the service," Derek said, sadly. "I just thought you should know."

"Are you okay to go in there?" Meredith asked Lexie, concerned. Lexie nodded, even though she wasn't sure.

"I brought your medication with me just in case," Derek said quietly. "If you feel you need it, let me know."

"Can we please just get this over with?" Lexie asked.

George's funeral service was presided over by a Catholic priest. George's mother and brothers gave heartbreaking eulogies. Izzie still couldn't bring herself to listen to what was being said. Instead she stared at the engagement ring on her hand. Meredith also found herself staring at her feet. The alternative was to look around at the mourners sobbing and fall apart as well. Lexie cried throughout the entire service, with Derek keeping a close watch on her. He concluded that it was healthy for her to grieve, to let her feelings out.

When the service was over, the mourners proceeded to the graveyard for George's burial, with the exception of Izzie who stayed back at the church.

"Iz?" Meredith asked as they all approached her. "Are you coming?" Izzie shook her head.

"No, you go ahead," she replied.

"It's almost over," Cristina said, trying to be encouraging.

"I didn't think that you would come," Izzie said honestly as she looked up at Cristina. Cristina was wearing sunglasses, not wishing to let others know that she had been crying. She didn't reply to Izzie's comment. "I know that I'm never going to see George again," Izzie said quietly. "I know that he's gone. I'm not in denial about it so I don't need to watch them put his body in the ground to convince me that he's gone. I really don't need to see that."

"I get that," Alex said, also wearing sunglasses to mask his swollen eyes. It was the part that he dreaded most at funerals.

"What do you want to do then?" Meredith asked. Izzie shrugged. She didn't care.

"Joe's?" Alex suggested. Lexie gave him a look as if to indicate that he was being inappropriate.

"What?" Alex asked, defensively. "All people do is get drunk at wakes anyway. And let's face it, George wouldn't want us to sit around a room full of people who didn't know him all that well crying into their brandy."

"Karev has a point," Cristina said.

"Joe's it is then," Derek said.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Twenty minutes later Izzie, Alex, Meredith, Derek, Lexie and Cristina sat at a table at Joe's bar with a drink each. No body had said anything. They weren't sure what to say. Suddenly Alex laughed a little. Everybody looked at him, confused.

"What the hell?" Cristina asked. "That's stooping low, even for you." Alex laughed more.

"I was just thinking about the time that O'Malley was left holding the wedding dress in the pit… that look on his face." Meredith smiled a little. She remembered that day. They had all stood around watching.

"What about the whole 'ya coded' thing," Derek chimed in as he put his arm lovingly around Meredith. "I don't know what that was all about but it made him some kind of God." This caused Lexie to start laughing, remembering their intern antics.

"Who could forget his drunken three AM rendition of sexyback?" Cristina asked. "I swear that's burnt into my memory forever."

"Mine too," Meredith said with a laugh. They all looked at Izzie who had stayed serious. Then suddenly Izzie cracked up laughing.

"What about that time he punched you out for giving him syphilis?" Izzie said to Alex.

"You gave George syphilis?" Lexie asked, completely confused. Everybody cracked up laughing more at the impression that Lexie must have been getting.

"I let him hit me," Alex said, unconvincingly.

"Yeah right," Izzie replied. "He kicked your ass."

"Well this is a pleasant surprise," Bailey said as she entered the Emerald city bar. Richard had gone back to the hospital. "I figured you'd be drinking somewhere. At least you're laughing." Derek pulled a chair up for Bailey.

"Come and join us," he sad. "We were just discussing the time George kicked Alex's ass." Bailey couldn't help but smile at the memory as Joe brought her over a glass of red wine.

"I'd like to make a toast," Bailey said as the laughing settled. She raised her glass. "To George O'Malley."

"To George," they all said in unison, raising their glasses.

"And to those of us who are left behind. May we keep on living, may the sun keep on shining and may we grow into better people for having known him." Everybody raised their glasses again. Not noticing the time, they drank and shared George stories, through laughter and tears, late into the night.


End file.
